Obsessed
by HidekoChan90
Summary: Sangois a well-liked nurse at Tokyo's insane asylum. She's especially well-liked by the institutions newest psychiatrist, but when an obsessed patient gets too close for comfort and then myeteriously escapes, they are both in for a wild surprise.MS,Lemon!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Alright, Mr. Banks, it's time to take your medication." Sango Noriko said sweetly as she measured out a certain amount of liquid in a clear cup. Her long, thick hair was tied up neatly in a bun on the back of her head. She was dressed in white, with a knee-length skirt on and flat white shoes.

The man sat in his chair and smiled up at her. "I take medicine for pretty nurse." He said, taking the cup from her gently. Sango offered him a smile as he downed the medication.

"Very good. Now, how does lunch sound Mr. Banks?"

"Lunch with pretty nurse." He cheered happily, clapping his hands as another nurse, Kagome Higurashi, pushed him along.

"You seem pretty popular around here." Kagome said, smiling.

"Too bad everyone's…well…" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Insane."

"That may be true." Kagome said, as the two wheeled their current patient to the cafeteria. "But, you know the old therapist that used to come in here moved. I heard they hired a new one."

Sango looked momentarily surprised. "You mean Mr. Takahashi's gone?"

"Yea." Kagome replied. "But, they hired some new guy. I heard he was young. I bet he's hot."

The other nurse rolled her brown eyes. "As long as he doesn't get in my way, I'm fine with it. I sure will miss Mr. Takahashi though, he was a nice old man."

"You have father issues." Kagome teased.

"I didn't say I wanted to date the old guy. I just thought he was nice." Sango said in defense. "He wasn't a pervert like some of the young guys."

Kagome ordered her lunch, then the patient's order, then moved him along and allowed Sango to stand at the counter. Once they were seated, Sango made sure Mr. Banks was comfortable and sat down to pretend to enjoy her hamburger.

She would have loved to be taken out to lunch to a real restaurant with real food just once on her lunch break, but she wasn't allowed to leave the hospital during her 9 hour shift.

"I heard the new doctors coming in today." Kagome said, cheerfully. "Probably in a couple hours after recreation time. He's coming in for introductions."

"How thrilling." Sango said, with a smile. "I'll be too busy to notice."

"Unless he's cute."

"If he's a doctor, he's got brains. I doubt he's good looking." Sango argued.

"Than that means…" Kagome said, thoughtfully. "That you must be ugly. You are a nurse…you can't be stupid."

Sango scowled. "Women are different." She said, laughing.

"Pretty nurse…Pretty nurse." Mr. Banks reached out a hand towards her and Sango backed away momentarily.

"Mr. Banks." Sango said calmly. "We should get you back to your room."

"Pretty nurse come to room with me?" He asked, looking up at her as she loomed over him. Kagome stayed seated.

"I'll take you to your room, OK?" She said, sweetly and pushed him along in his wheelchair towards his room.

Some patients, like Mr. Banks were sweet and she didn't feel threatened. Then there were others. Like Mr. Alexander who often beat on his door and threw his body against the wall whenever Sango gave her attention to another patient. Or Ms. Simone who would just sit in a corner quiet and still one minute, then raving and crazy the next.

But perhaps the most threatening of patients were the ones who seemed normal. The ones who you could actually sit down and have a conversation with. The kind, that, if you met them on the streets of Tokyo, you wouldn't know they were insane at all.

Sango found them to be the scariest.

Leaving Mr. Banks in his room and turning on the television for him, she quietly exited and closed the door lightly as not to startle him.

Now it was on to give another patient his medication. Hamilton Alexander. She opened up his door that read room 6 to be exact to find him huddled in a corner rocking back and forth.

"Mr. Alexander." She said, sweetly offering him a smile. "Time for your medicine."

He stood up, his ankles in shackles and he hobbled over to her. "I'm glad you came to me." He said, sitting down for her in his chair obediently. "I do not like blond nurse. She's not as pretty or nice."

"Oh, now, Mr. Alexander. Nurse Hayden is nice to you." She said, calmly as she measured out his medication. "She's nice to everyone, now isn't she?" Sango really had nothing against her co-worker, Hayden, except their personalities seemed to clash. Hayden didn't treat the patients the way they should be treated sometimes, but everyone worked differently and Sango often kept her mouth shut in fear of being fired if she started anything with another employee.

Sango truly enjoyed her job, though at times, it was a bit frightening. Like now, she knew what was going to happen to the moment she left to attend to another patient. Hamilton was going to go crazy, but the shackles on his ankles kept him from touching her, but that was the only thing that comforted her.

"No." Hamilton answered her after sipping his medication. "No, Hayden not as pretty."

Sango simply giggled. "Very good, Mr. Alexander. You took all your medicine." She forced a smile and almost dreaded leaving. Maybe she could try and cushion the blow of her leaving to him. "I tell you what, after I make the rest of my rounds, I'll escort you down to the recreation center and you can play a game of rummy with your friends."

He looked at her for a moment, then nodded emphatically. "Yes."

"Good." She said, turning towards the door. "I'll be back, alright?"

"Alright." He said, then watched her leave. She closed the door softly behind her, then she heard it. The sound of his metal shackles being stretched to their limits. His blood-curdling screams.

"Sango! No, don't leave me!" He cried out. Sango just stood by the door for a moment, then she heard someone behind her.

"Excuse me, miss…." She turned around at the sound of a male voice and her breath caught in her throat. His jaw dropped too and for a moment neither one of them heard the insane screams from inside the room.

Regaining his composure, he was the first to speak. "I'm-I'm…I'm Miroku Keseki. Dr. Miroku Keseki. Uhm, may I see this patient please?"

Sango stepped aside and allowed him to enter the room, where Hamilton was flailing and even chewing on his ankle to release himself from the shackles.

"Whoa. Whoa!" Miroku called out. "Take it easy, big guy." He said, trying to sound friendly. But it wasn't Miroku who calmed him down, it was the site of Sango that calmed the insane patient down considerably.

He sat on the edge of his bed and shook as she watched Miroku. The new doctor seemed quite threatening, actually. He was dressed in a suit, tie, dress shoes. His hair was neatly combed and pulled back into a very short ponytail and held together by a thin, white band. His handsome face was accented with bangs, and his wintry blue eyes seem to glisten, despite of the depressing place he was at.

"Nurse Sango come back!" He cheered happily.

Sango offered him a sweet smile and then noticed Miroku was looking at her.

Suddenly, the double doors swung open and she saw her other co-workers. Both strong males. Inu Yasha and Nelly Haynes came walking through along with apparently another patient. His hands were behind his back and he was wearing the usual orange uniform. Inu Yasha and Nelly struggled to keep the man in the grasp as he fought for his release.

The man gritted his teeth and tried to pull away, but the other two men were stronger and they eventually led him into an empty room with a bed, a television, a toilet and a shower.

It wasn't quite like jail, but it was close to it.

Miroku smiled over at Sango who seemed a bit nervous. "You should be used to things like that. You do work here, don't you?"

Sango suddenly became defensive. "Of course I work here. I've been here almost three years. I'm not scared."

"Seems like it to me. I've met some pretty wild people here."

"Well your in a psych ward. What do you expect?" She said. "Besides, didn't you say you were a doctor?"

"Yep." Miroku nodded. "I got a Ph. D. in psychology. I graduated with a degree from Tokyo U. By the way, if you don't mind me saying…that nurse outfits cute on you."

Sango blushed wildly at his comment, then scowled. "I…I…I have to go make my rounds."

"That you should." He said with a smile. "I have to finish surveying the rest of the patients. It's my first day here, just trying to get acquainted with everyone." He gave her a wink, then stepped out of the room.

Hamilton had fallen asleep from his earlier panic attack and was now asleep, flat on his back on his bed, his ankles still in the shackles bolted to the floor. Sango immediately left and went on to the next patient, which she was dreading.

Raven Simone. No, she wasn't the worst patient, but definitely one Sango wasn't too thrilled to have to work with.

Kagome came around the corner with a wide smile as Sango exited Raven's room. "So," She said. "I saw you chatting with the hot new doctor. Isn't he a dream?"

"More like a nightmare." She said bitterly. "He's cocky, arrogant, self-centered, conceited. How did he become a psychiatrist anyway?"

"Oh, c'mon." Kagome laughed. "You're not fooling anyone. You think he's cute. I can tell by the blush on your face."

Sango felt the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl for some reason when she thought about the new doctor. "Stop it, Kagome." She said, looking around. "Other people might hear you."

"So it is true." Kagome giggled. "You should talk to him more, maybe he likes you, too."

"Kagome, I'm here to work, not flirt with him." She corrected her. "I'm only going to discuss business matters with him, if I need to. Otherwise, I'll ignore him."

"Sure." Kagome said with a smile. "And I won't flirt with Inu Yasha anymore." She winked when she saw her own object of desire make his way out of the new patients bedroom along with Nelly.

The silver-haired man smiled at Kagome. "He's all yours. By the way, nice job flirting with the new doctor, Sango." Inu Yasha laughed, high-fived Nelly then the two walked ahead.

Kagome's heart was racing and Sango felt the heat rise around her face and neck. Any more of this, and _she_ was going to end up in an insane asylum.

********************************************************************************

Miroku stood in the middle of a circle with a select group of patients. Eight of them in all, four males and four females. He sat down in his chair and read off his files. "I'm Miroku Keseki and I'll be your new guidance counselor. I'm here to talk to about anything you might have questions for. So why don't we get started, hm?"

He got a simple nod from Hamilton, who he had met earlier and one of the girls raised their hands.

"Yes, uh…" He read her name tag. "Raven, do you have a question?"

"Can I see what's inside your pants?" She asked, winking.

Everyone burst out into laughter, Hamilton clapped his hands and jumped up and down in his seat. Mr. Shad Moss also let out a loud laugh and Miroku had to effectively quite them down.

"Alright, alright. We've had our laugh for the day." He said, with a smile towards Raven. "Ms. Simone, I don't fraternize with my patients, but thank you for your interest. Why don't we move on to something else, huh? Anyone want to share any dreams they've had lately?"

Hamilton stood up and raised his hand. "I do."

Miroku gave him a smile and sat down in his own chair, as not to make him feel threatened or make him feel as if he was trying to override his time. "Tell us, Hamilton."

He looked around the circle for a moment, then back at Miroku. "I had a dream I got married."

"Really?" Miroku asked. "That's interesting. Who'd you get married too?" He tried his best to sound interested.

"Nurse Sango." He said. "She is very pretty."

"Can't argue you with you there." Miroku said with a smile. "Anyone else?"

Sango and Kagome peeked in through the window at the session.

"He seems to keep them all interested." Kagome said, watching. "Of course I'd be interested too if he was talking to me." A light blush graced her cheeks and an even deeper one came across Sango's face.

"He's…He's not that great." Sango countered, looking in, her sienna eyes fixated on Miroku. OK, So he was really, really, _really_ cute. But that didn't make him loveable.

"Ms. Noriko…" A voice from behind her caused her to turn around and come face to face with her boss, Jay Webb.

"Mr. Webb…I…"

He offered her a smile to show her wasn't angry. "If you can pull your attention away from the fascinating new doctor, I'd like you to meet the new patient we bought in yesterday. He has to take four medications a day, two of them on your shift."

"Right. I'm sorry, sir. I was just…"

He waved her off and stopped her. "I understand. But we can't let our infatuations get in the way of our work."

"I'm not infatuated…" Sango argued, blushing yet again.

"Oh, stop lying." Kagome laughed, then her nurse station beeped. "Oh, crap. Another patient alert. Good luck, Sango." She said, then raced off.

********************************************************************************

The new patient was a scary when he was first bought in, as Sango remembered from yesterday's encounter. But now, she saw that he was quiet and seemed to like playing solitaire.

"Mr. Bailey?" She called out softly as she entered his room, which was scarcely lit by a small bedside table. Rows of cards were situated out in front of him. His name was Howard Bailey, she had learned from Jay. He was a 6'2, dark-skinned sales attendant at a local gas station and just two weeks ago killed and shot a store clerk at a local grocery store.

His trial had convicted him as clinically insane and instead of prison was sent to the Tokyo Inane Asylum.

He looked up from his cards and smiled at her. "Well, hello there."

Sango was shocked. He greeted her as any other normal person would do. Of course, she had ran into this kind of patient before, they seemed normal on the outside, but inside they were a total nutcase.

"Are you ready for you medicine?"

"Sure." He said, rolling up his sleeves cooperatively as Sango filled up the syringe with his medication. It was an intravenous medication that helped him with his blood sugar disorder. Most of the patients took medications for seizures, heart murmurs, and anger control, but this guy didn't have any of that written on his list.

Just a few medical problems that he needed daily medication for.

"This will only pinch for a second…" She said as she carefully inserted the needle.

Howard simply smiled. "It's not a problem. Sure am glad I have a nurse like you. Some of these women around here are frumpy. You, though, are beautiful."

Sango looked down at him. "I get that a lot." She said with a giggle. She didn't have a problem with having casual conversations with killers because it was part of her job, she did it everyday. But she still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling she had with this man. It was a strange, foreboding sense. Maybe it was because he was a new patient she had never met before. Or maybe it was because of the way he stared at her backside as she turned around to dispose of the used needle.

But whatever it was, she knew she just wanted out of this room and fast. However, she remained calm.

"Well, Mr. Bailey, thank you being so patient. I'll be back to administer you're other medication at 4:00." She told him as she pushed her cart towards the door.

"I'll wait until then, beautiful." He said with a smile and Sango was more than grateful to close the door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So," Miroku said, casually, leaning against the nurse's station of the hospital as Sango sat at her desk, pointedly trying to ignore him. "Care to have lunch with me today?" He was not giving up.

She had already refused his offer the day before and instead of taking a hint, he just keeps trying.

"Dr. Keseki, I'm very busy. I don't even know if I'll have a lunch break today." Sango told him, not bothering to look up into those pretty blue eyes of his.

"You have to eat something or you'll be sick." He told her, leaning against the counter. "I'm a doctor, I know these things."

Sango sighed and opened up a file, searching through papers. "You just won't give up will you?"

"Not until you say yes."

"It's 9 in the morning." Sango groused.

"Yes. You're correct." Miroku announced. "That gives me 3 hours to convince you to go grab a bite to eat." His handsome voice, once serious when he was working, was now playful, lighter and undeniably sexy.

Sango sighed. "Let me ask my manager…"

"Ask your manager what?" Jay's familiar voice came from around the corner, he smiled when he saw that they were talking. He and Kagome had definitely been cooking something up. Since when did her love life become any of _their_ business.

Sango watched as Hayden walked by, probably on her way to a patient's room, and lightly touched Miroku on the shoulder. Jealousy ripped through her. "If I may have a lunch break today…" She said, her eyes fallowing the blond nurse down the hall. She couldn't figure out, for the life of her, why she was shooting daggers of death at the woman right now.

Miroku didn't even seem to be fazed by it.

"Of course you can. You have to eat something." Jay said, with a wink at Miroku. "Some of these other nurses can pick up some of your work. You work way too hard sometimes, Sango." He said, with a toss of his head back towards Hayden. "Some of these women slack off."

Miroku gave her a crooked smile. "So I guess I'll see you around noon."

"Not before than…" Sango said, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Miroku watched as she walked down the hall, admiring her hips and what part of her legs he could see. The rest was left up to his imagination, but if things went the way he wanted them too, that wouldn't be too long.

"I'm sorry If I'm taking too much of an interest in her." He apologized to Jay. "She's just gorgeous and beautiful. I mean, I don't even know how to describe her."

Jay simply laughed. "It's not a problem. As long as it doesn't get in the way of your work." He said with a smile.

"So," Miroku tore his eyes away from Sango's backside long enough to look at his manager. "It would be alright if I asked her out on a date then? A real one…"

"Fine with me." Jay said. "Just, don't let Hayden know about it. She's got a little crush on you."

Miroku suddenly felt even more cocky then he already was. "Is that so? Well, alright then, I'll have to do it where Hayden can't hear me. Though, I suppose if this sassy little brunette refuses me, I could always ask the blond out."

"Exactly." Jay said. "Now get to work, Keseki." He joked with a smile, then went down the hall to his office.

********************************************************************************

"I can't believe Jay actually let me leave." Sango said, as she walked into the small café with Miroku walking, almost protectively, behind her.

"I pulled a few strings. I heard from Ms. Higurashi you were sick of cafeteria food so I wanted to take you to a place with real food." Miroku said, then led her towards a table.

A display of cakes and meats were at the front of the restaurant, a jukebox was in the corner and the lighting was dim despite that it was the middle of the day. Something about the scarce sunlight on Miroku's face made him look undeniably handsome.

This almost felt like a date to Sango, until she realized she was in her nurse uniform.

"I wish I didn't have to wear this silly thing out in public." She said, a bit embarrassed.

Miroku looked up from his menu, then smiled. "I think you look great."

"Thank you…" She said, shyly. Sango felt nervous around him, but not the frightened kind of nervous she got around her new patient Howard Bailey, it was the butterflies in her stomach kind of feeling. The kind that made her want to giggle and feel like she was 15 again.

"My pleasure." Miroku said smoothly. He usually wasn't nervous around women. In high school and even college, he asked girls out everyday, there was very few nights he didn't have a date. It was almost like a second nature to him.

But now, as he sat there across the table from this beautiful nurse he couldn't seem to find the words to ask her out. Maybe it was because it had been so long since he had actually proposed a date with a women that he had forgotten or lost some of his skills.

She stared up at him after looking at her menu for a few minutes, only to discover he was looking at her as well. Miroku opened his mouth to speak but even he couldn't find the words. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Uh…uh…no!" He protested quickly. "I was just…" He paused and gathered his courage. It was now or never. "I was just wondering…if you're not too busy…maybe on your next day off…If your not too busy."

Sango sighed, then gave him a small smile. "If I'd go out on a date with you?"

"Yes…" His voice cracked nervously and he felt like a complete idiot, but Sango seemed amused. Which might have been a good thing.

She looked back down at her menu, then back up at the doctor. "Alright. One date." She watched him sit up with a start and a wide smile came across his face. She was trying to her best to hide her flattery and her excitement. Sango could hardly believe the talk-of-the-hospital doctor had asked _her_ out. She was expecting him to gravitate towards Hayden like every other young male did. That fact really disgusted her by the way, but she could just imagine the jealousy and envy Hayden would have when she found out that Miroku Keseki asked _her_ out!

"Great!" He exclaimed. "How's Friday? 8:00?"

"Friday's great." She said.

"Seems a little far off, I know. Seeing as it's only Tuesday." Miroku said smoothly. "But if it's a date with you, I'd wait forever."

"Flattery isn't going to get you in my pants, Mr. Keseki."

He chuckled and Sango couldn't help but admire the way he laughed. Even his _laugh_ was sexy. Damn. "You sure about that?"

She simply shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Very funny."

"By the way, since I'm taking you out on this date…" He said, with a thoughtful tone. "Don't you think you should start calling me 'Miroku' now, instead of 'Mr. Keseki'? Seems to formal for me."

Sighing, she closed her menu as she saw the waitress approaching. "Fine, then. _Miroku_. Better?"

A small smile played on his lips. "Perfect."

********************************************************************************

Wednesday afternoon was a quite one for the most part. Miroku was having his daily therapy session with Hamilton who required a great deal of therapy. Miroku quickly discovered that this patient had been abandoned as a child in a local grocery store and couldn't find his parents for ten days.

When he was reunited with his parents, they abandoned him again in a bowling alley when he was at the tender age of 8. Since then, he was given up to foster homes across Japan. When his 17th birthday came his current foster parents left him home alone to go to the grocery store and, in a fit of rage, smashed everything in the house and even shot his foster father in the right shoulder.

Proven insane, they decided to omit him to the mental institution and that's where he stayed for the past three years.

No wonder he had abandonment issues. He seemed to have attached himself to Sango in almost a childlike way and Miroku genuinely felt bad for the guy. What a terrible childhood this guy had. But Sango was a gentle, kind-natured woman and that's why Miroku wanted to get to know her more.

Her beauty had caught his interest at first, but he saw the way she was so personal and kind the patients and that made him like her even more. Though, she wasn't as kind and warm towards him at times.

His mind began to drift towards her and smiled, then realized he needed to stay focused on this session. Leaning back in his chair and looked down at his notes he had written. "Is there anything else you'd like to discuss today?"

Hamilton sat on the edge of his bed, the television was on but the volume was down. His eyes were fixated on the screen as if he was trying to avoid eye contact with Miroku. "No, I want nurse Sango."

Miroku stood up slowly. "Well, buddy, nurse Sango is busy."

"I want Nurse Sango!" He stood up and slammed his bed into the wall. Then he proceeded to scream and jab his nurse call button furiously.

"Alright, alright." Miroku said, in an attempt to calm him down. "I'll get her. Just stay calm."

The door opened and Hayden stood in the doorway, dressed in the same uniform Sango and Kagome wore, though she didn't look quite as good in it as Sango did. "Is everything OK?"

"He wants to see Sango. I didn't mean to upset him, I just--"

"Oh, no." Hayden said with a smile. Hamilton rocked back in forth in the corner in a fetal position and shook violently. "It's OK. He does this all the time. Hamilton, it's alright. Stop shaking."

Hamilton looked towards Hayden, happy to hear a females voice, but when he discovered it wasn't Sango he stood up and pulled the shackles on his ankles tight. "Not nurse Sango! Not nurse Sango!" He screamed, giving Miroku the dirtiest looks he could give. "You take nurse Sango from me!"

"No, Hamilton. I'm just a doctor." Miroku protested. Then the door opened wider and Hamilton seemed to calm down when he saw who it was. Sango simply smiled at him and walked past Miroku where Hamilton obediently sat on the edge of his bed and opened his mouth as if she was about to give him medication.

Sango giggled and shook her head. "No, no. You already had your medication for the day. I just came in to check on you."

"Nurse Sango cares about me." Hamilton clapped his hands enthusiastically.

"Yes, Hamilton, I do. Would you like some lunch?"

He nodded emphatically. Then Sango turned to face Miroku, pointedly ignoring Hayden. "I think it would be a good idea if you came along, too. He needs to get to know you where he feels comfortable and this room of his isn't the best place. Care to join us in the cafeteria?"

Hayden seethed.

"Sure. I got another 30 minutes before my next patient gets out of recess in the recreation center." He said, as Sango unhooked Hamilton's shackles from the floor and helped him into the wheelchair and wheeled him out.

The couple pushed past Hayden and the light-haired nurse fumed at their closeness. Of course, they couldn't be too close at work, but she had seen him take her out yesterday. Buddha only knows what they did…

It just wasn't fair.

********************************************************************************

Thursday morning, Miroku rolled out of bed. He had to be at work nearly 20 minutes early so he could prepare for his session with Howard Bailey. The almost normal type of patient, which he and Sango both agreed on, could be the scariest type.

Miroku Keseki was a single, somewhat happy, and successful bachelor. His apartment wasn't immaculate like any other guy's apartment. He enjoyed his Friday nights in front of the television, drinking a beer and watching sports. Or maybe a night at a local nightclub so he could meet a few girls.

But if the handsome doctor was honest with himself, he was lonely. He wanted the companionship of a wife, the feeling of coming home and having someone there waiting for him. Maybe a couple children to run up to him when he walked through the door. He wanted someone to depend on him, besides his patients.

Like any psychologist, Miroku had encountered the occasional patient that had that dependency on him, but that wasn't the same as having a wife. Someone who would look at him with deep brown eyes filled with desire, passion, love. His coffee reminded him of Sango's eye colour. Deep, dark, rich. When he thought about these things, he almost found it strange that he pictured Sango.

Maybe his infatuation was getting too serious and that scared him, he couldn't love her. Could he? No, it was too soon. But he knew for a fact he liked her. And since when did _he_ ever think about marriage?

He was the same guy who was called a womanizer in college. Voted most likely to never settle down in high school and even now, his most recent girlfriend that he had for a mere three months broke up with him when she caught him kissing another girl at a nightclub.

Yes, the bachelor life was hard, along with the life of a doctor, but Miroku was enjoying it. Though, as he gathered his coat off the hook on the wall, he had to admit; Sango was beginning to get to him.

********************************************************************************

Miroku lightly tapped on Howard Bailey's door. The man was sitting in his bed, eating his pancakes, along with scrambled eggs and bacon. "May I come in?"

"Sure." Howard said, nodding. "Just watching highlights of last nights basketball game. You catch it?"

"Oh, uh. Yea, actually. About two quarters of it before I fell asleep." Miroku responded, casually. Trying to get a common ground with this guy was proving to be easy. "You have a favourite team?"

"I like the Lakers. They have the hottest cheerleaders." He said with a smile.

"Agreed." Miroku chuckled, then sat down. "So, I'm Miroku Keseki. I'm the new psychologist here at the hospital, and you are Howard Bailey, correct?"

"Yes." He said calmly. Miroku noticed immediately that the guy was sizing him up which made him feel a little uncomfortable. No matter how calm, collected and sane a patient may seem he knew he had to always be on his guard.

"Alright." Miroku said, sitting back and ready to take notes. "What do want to start off talking about today?"

"I don't really want to talk about anything." Howard's voice was lowered, and he stabbed a strip of bacon with his fork almost angrily. Miroku calmed his breathing.

"Alright. Uhm, then shall I come back at a later time?"

"I want to see a nurse." He grumbled abruptly.

Miroku stood up, and loosened his tie a bit from around his neck. He was becoming nervous and now he understood why Sango had left that room as quickly as she did when she had came in for his medication. "Are you sick?"

"With food like this I will be!" He replied. "This food tastes like shit. When are we ever going to get some real food in here?"

"Sir, I'm not the cook. I--"

"No, you know what?" Howard pushed his trey away. "I don't want any stuck up little doctors in here with their cocky attitudes and their suits. You apparently aren't listening, I said I wanted a nurse."

Miroku calmed his breathing once again and immediately started making his way towards the door. "I'll get you a nurse…"

"Make sure you get the right one." Howard darted his eyes towards Miroku. The dark orbs were full of disdain and Miroku fumbled for the doorknob.

"I…I…which one is the right one?" The doctor's voice became lighter and squeakier and he knew he was making a big mistake by showing fear.

"The pretty dark-headed one. The one with the pretty eyes." He grin was almost cat-like in a sinister way. "I like my women like that one."

"I'll get her." He said, quickly, then opened the door grateful to hear the familiar sounds of telephones, doctors being pages, and footsteps on the tile floor. Howard Bailey's room had suddenly became a place of dread.

"You scared, Keseki?" He asked, taking a bite of his bacon and ripping it off in an animal-like manner.

"I'll get her for you…" He repeated, then quickly left and bumped right into Sango.

"Mr. Keseki!" She exclaimed. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry. Uh…actually, I was looking for you."

"Oh?" Sango asked, as she filled a syringe full of medication. "Why is that?"

"It's Bailey." He replied. "He's wanting to see you."

She sighed and placed the syringe into a round holder. "Well, he's going to have to wait. I've got another patients, you know."

"Sango, I don't think he's gonna wait."

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Miroku said, and Sango was almost alarmed by the ghost-white expression on his face. "He just got real creepy. Just appease him for a moment, go in and see what he wants. I don't think he's harmful, but he doesn't seem to like men very much."

Sango looked at him for a minute, then at Howard's door. "Alright…why do you say that?"

"He called me a stuck up doctor and pretty much told me to get out." He said with a chuckle, though the whole situation was more frightening then funny.

Even she could see that the psychologist was freaked out and she was almost apprehensive about going into the room. But it was her job. "OK. Uhm, could you stand outside here? Come in if you hear me call?"

"I will." Miroku promised her, with a smile. Sango felt immediately comforted and he felt needed and important.

As she walked in cautiously, Miroku stayed out of sight but watched as she progressed into the room until the wooden door shut behind her. "Hello?"

A smile came to Howard's face as he saw her enter the room. "Nurse Sango. You look simply beautiful today."

"Why thank you." Sango said with a forced smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"This food…" He said, pointing at his breakfast. "is crap."

Sango giggled a little. "I'm sorry, sir. I can get you something else if you like."

"No." He said. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart." His voice was lowered an octave and the way he was staring at her made he feel uneasy. It was as if he was undressing her with his eyes. "Come sit on my bed."

Sango hesitated, then looked back towards the door.

"That stuck up doctor isn't out there is he?" Howard asked, angrily and aggressively.

"Of-of course not." Sango stammered, clearing her throat. Not knowing what else to do, she sat on the edge of his bed, and he sat up then snaked his arm around her shoulders. She tried her best not to let him know this made her uncomfortable because that would probably upset him.

"So beautiful." He murmured. "I've never had such a pretty lady pay attention to me like you have before."

"Oh, well," Sango forced a smile. "That's very flattering, but I do have other patients to get to." She was looking for any excuse to get out of his room.

"You're not leaving me." He whispered in her ear. "You're my woman."

Sango pulled herself away from him abruptly, leaving him almost stunned by her sudden movement. "I have to go!" She said, loudly, hoping Miroku would hear. Which, he did. He had his ear pressed against the door to hear for any sounds of alarm.

"No!" Howard began to yell. "You're mine! All mine! You'll never leave!" He finished with a sinister laugh then an ear-shattering scream. At the instant, Miroku burst in, unauthorized, but he didn't care.

He protected Sango until she made it out of the room and Howard just rocked back and forth on his bed, pulling the sheets off from around the corner of his mattress and continued to laugh and scream as Miroku shut the door.

Jay immediately made his way over and locked the door from the outside, so that Howard couldn't make it out and chase Sango, or anyone else, down. "He's on solitary confinement for the next 8 hours. Nelly," He turned to see the body guard-like employee making his way down the hall. "I'm putting you on duty to give him his lunch."

"Yes, sir." Nelly agreed.

"Sango, if he's not calm in 8 hours, he will be put on 48 hour solitary confinement. I'm not going to put you in danger of taking care of him anymore." Jay said. "That guy is one of the worst we've had." He put a drape over the small window in the door so that Howard could not look out.

Then, suddenly, there was a scream from down the hall.

Hayden jumped from her nurses station and dashed into room 16, where Raven was sitting on her bed, scraping her arm with the end of a toothbrush. "Raven, no, no."

"It hurts!" She screamed. "It hurts! Get it out of me!"

"Get what out? Get what out?" Hayden asked, panicking.

Miroku stepped into the room and saw Hayden kneeling in front of her. Then, she turned back to face him, Sango stood in the doorway not wanting to get in the way. He kneeled down in front of Raven only to see that she was clutching her arm with her hand. "Raven, sweety, you need to remove your hands."

"No!" She screamed. "You hurt them! You hurt them!" She squeezed her arm tighter and Miroku looked back at Sango and Hayden, obviously confused.

"No, I'm not going to hurt you." He said, sweetly. "I just want to look. Maybe I can make the pain go away?"

Raven looked at him for a moment, then removed her hand. There, on her arm, was a deep, bloody, and raw gash that started at her wrist and went to her elbow. Miroku was shocked, but tried to stay calm. "Alright…" He said, looking at it. "Ms. Noriko, can you grab me a flashlight?"

Sango nodded then headed off towards the nurses station, and returned a moment later with a flashlight.

Miroku took it from her and turned it on. Flashing it onto Raven's arm, he couldn't believe his own eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Earthworms?" Sango asked. Hayden made a face of disgust.

"Yes." Miroku confirmed. "She has earthworms borrowing into her arm. We need to get these out, now. Or she could have a serious infection."

"From worms?" Hayden asked in disbelief. "How do you know so much?"

"I went to school to study psychology, but that's also medical school. You learn things on the way." Miroku said, casually. "Hayden, do you mind getting me a pair of sterilized tweezers, and some containers."

Raven was crying hysterically behind him and as soon as Hayden took off down the hall, Miroku was back by her side. "Raven, don't touch the wound, OK? You have to keep your hands off it."

"Don't hurt my worms!" She screamed, crying hysterically. "Please, don't hurt them!"

"I won't hurt them, I promise." Miroku said. "I'm just going to get them out of your arm."

Raven, at this point, began to rock back and forth as Miroku watched in disgust as the earth worms borrowed themselves deeper in her arm. Sango looked at it as well. "I'll get some medicine prepared so you can wash the wound after you remove the worms."

"That's a good idea." Miroku agreed, Sango left the room, just as Hayden reentered with the supplies he asked for.

"Here you go." She said, with a smile and a wink.

"Thank you." He said, smiling back. Then it was time for the dirty work. After this, he could only hope he still had an appetite for tomorrow night's dinner date with the lovely Sango Noriko.

********************************************************************************

After the worms were removed, Miroku realized he had stayed well over his shift. Of course, he'd be receiving overtime pay. His 'surgery' on Raven's arm took at least a couple of hours.

Raven smiled at him the entire time he fixed up her arm. Wearing gloves, he rubbed an antibiotic cream on the wound, then wrapped her arm with a bandage. All of the earth worms were put in a container and Hayden released them outside to go back to their homes in the flower garden surrounding the hospital.

"So, Raven…" Miroku said casually, grateful now that she was calm. "How'd you get earthworms in your arms?"

"I am lonely." She replied. "No family. No friends. Earthworms are family. I picked them up from the dirt outside."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh. That's uh…interesting." He decided that as long as he was in there he would familiarize himself with this patient. "What happened to your family?"

"Put me in a dumpster." She said, not looking at him. "Smelly trash. Dumpster."

Miroku's face softened and he felt a lump rise in his throat. Kami, he wasn't strong enough for this job sometimes. Especially when it came to women. "How old were you when that happened?"

She began to rock back and forth, then held up her hand with all five fingers. She had been only five when that happened to her and Miroku felt a mix of anger and sympathy. "Well, you know, we all here at the hospital think you're family."

"Really?" Raven asked. "Even Nurse Hayden?"

Miroku laughed. "Even Nurse Hayden."

"Even you?" She asked, hopefully.

"Even me." He confirmed, standing up from his kneeling position. "But listen, I have to go. I'll be back tomorrow, maybe we can talk more?"

Nodding, she laid back onto her pillow with a smile. "You are cute." She said, shyly.

"Thank you." Miroku said, politely. "You are a beauty yourself." He said, kindly, then he turned around to see Sango smiling at him.

"Your sweet, Miroku." She said.

"Just my nature." He replied, as he closed Raven's door behind him. "Sometimes it gets in the way of my work though. Some of these stories they tell me are terrible."

Sango touched his back lightly and he walked her down the hall. The light touch sent something soaring through him, but he didn't let it show. She had such an affect on him and she didn't even know it.

He made sure she made it to her car safely, said his goodbyes and watched as she took off down the road with the fading sunset. Suddenly, he couldn't wait to get back to work, if it was just to see her again. And even more thrilling to him, was his date tomorrow night with her. He felt like the luckiest guy on earth.

Nelly exited the building after his shift, said goodbye to his partner Inu Yasha and then spotted the doctor leaned against his car in an almost dream-like state. "Hello? Earth to Miroku?"

"Huh?" Miroku snapped out of his daydream, which was very pleasant, to see Nelly in front of him. He and the police officer had become good friends over the past week and he could hardly believe that the week had passed by so quickly. He was actually enjoying working in a crazy house, even if it was because of a certain brunette beauty.

"What you thinking about, man?" Nelly asked. "That nurse?"

Miroku laughed. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yea!" Nelly exclaimed. "Jay told us you got a date tomorrow with her. Good luck with that. I've been here a year and I still can't ask the Bingo girl out. I don't even know her name!"

"Bingo girl?" Miroku asked, pulling his keys from his pockets.

"Yea. The girl who runs the bingo games in the recreation center." He smiled as he thought about her. "She's a hottie!"

Miroku shook his head. "You're crazy." He looked out over the horizon where Sango's car had disappeared to. "I'm crazy too, I guess. She's way out of my league."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Nelly said. "She did say yes didn't she?"

"Yea…"

"Then, I'm sure she likes you." He said. "Just don't go up on her too fast."

"Yea. You're right. I'm going to take things slow." Miroku promised to himself, he opened his car door and slipped in as he said his goodbyes to his newest friend. Then, he headed home.

********************************************************************************

"B-5!" Amber called out cheerfully from the front of the room.

Kagome helped Mr. Banks mark the number on his card, then he proceeded to draw on the table with the washable ink. Kagome quickly wiped it up without his notice.

"G-54!" Amber called out a moment later.

Nelly and Miroku stood at the back of the Bingo room, since Miroku had escorted Raven down to the recreation center by her request. He had been so nice to her the day before that she had taken to Miroku as if she felt safe with him, even though, at one point, she _did_ ask to see what was inside his pants.

"Isn't she gorgeous?" Nelly asked, leaning back against the wall and bearing the same dream-like face Miroku wore the day before.

"I-16!" Amber's voice rang out again and Miroku checked her out. Long, wavy brown hair, brown eyes, nice body, cute voice. No wonder she was the bingo girl. He had even fallen for the Bingo girl at the retirement home he interned at as he studied Alzheimer's patients for one of his courses.

He even dated her for a couple of months, but he couldn't recall her name now. He had only been out of college a year, and his next birthday he would be 24, yet he couldn't seem to recall that girl's name to save his hide.

He shrugged his shoulders and looked at his friend. "She's alright. Definitely pretty. Just ask her out."

"0-67!" Another number was called.

"She'll reject me!" Nelly said.

"You're a big, strong, many police officer…and you can't ask the girl who calls Bingo out on a date?" Miroku laughed then gave him a confident grin. "I did it, and Sango's kind of mean to me."

Nelly shook his head. "I'm just not as confident as you are. I mean, look at you. You're always dressed so nice, you're smart, you're funny, you're good-looking, you're--"

"Whoa!" Miroku cut him off and backed away from him. "That good-looking comment was too weird."

"Sorry." He apologized. "But, c'mon. You know it's true. Me…I'm just an average looking good who arrests…" He stopped and looked around the room. "C-R-A-Z-Y people."

"Look, just go up to her, ask her out on a date." Miroku said. "The worst thing that can happen is she tells you no."

Nelly nodded, then looked over towards her.

"N-34!" She called out again.

"The way she calls out those numbers…" Nelly bit his lower lip and Miroku rolled his eyes and laughed.

"You are weird, dude." He said. "I'm going to head back upstairs to see if there is anything else I need to do before I go home and get ready for my date!"

"Alright. And good luck tonight!" Nelly called out.

********************************************************************************

There was a knock on the door, and Sango checked her watch, wondering why Miroku had shown up so early. When she saw that her digital watch read 8:09, she then wondered how she lost track of time. Last time she looked at the clock it was only 6:30, did she really take that long getting ready to go on a date with this man?

"I'll get it!" Her little brother, Kohaku, called out, racing from the kitchen.

"Be nice, Kohaku." Sango warned from the bathroom as she quickly took the rollers out of her hair after she finished with her make up.

Kohaku opened the door to find, Miroku, slightly dressed down from what he usually was at work. He wore a dress shirt and tie, without the jacket, black slacks and a pair of dress shoes. In his hand was a bouquet of red roses and Kohaku just blinked in confusion.

Miroku looked down at the 12 year old boy. "Is Sango here?"

Kohaku nodded. "She's in the bathroom."

Sango heard him and felt mortified. Stupid little brother! "Fixing my hair!" She quickly added. She didn't want Miroku to get a mental picture of her on the toilet.

Miroku simply smiled and came in. Kohaku offered him a seat, which he gratefully accepted. He knew from experience that women take a really long time to get ready, and the longer you wait, the more that woman likes you. At this rate, Sango must really, really like him, even if she wasn't ready to admit it.

He heard the bathroom door open and his heart raced. Kohaku saw her coming and quickly dashed out of the room, then peeked his eyes around the corner as if to spy.

Miroku stood up and as she rounded the corner, he almost dropped the roses. And he thought she looked good in the nurse uniform… If she came to work looking like she did now he'd never get any work done.

Her normally straight black hair was curled into large curls that fell around her shoulders, her brown eyes were intensified by smoky black eyeliner and she wore a black dress with a red rose and rhinestones on it, that was a little longer than he would have liked, but still left little to the imagination. At least he could see more of legs now.

"Wow." He said, smiling.

Sango smiled back at him and felt awkward standing in her own living room.

"Uh…these…" He said, almost dropping the roses again. "Are for you." Miroku didn't know why he was becoming clumsy, but his knees just felt extremely weak and his hand couldn't quite grasp the dozen roses wrapped in plastic.

"Thank you!" Sango took them graciously and smelled them. "They're beautiful."

"Not nearly as beautiful as you, my dear."

"There you go with your flattery again." She said, laughing. He was really beginning to love that laugh.

"Shall we go?" He asked, holding out his hand. "It's not a date until you hold my hand."

Sango looked at him for a moment, then took his hand almost hesitantly. Then, as he closed his hand around hers, she realized she could actually like this feeling. He laced his fingers with hers and only separated from her long enough to get into his side of the car after opening the door for her.

Yes, tonight was going to be perfect. She could feel it.

********************************************************************************

By the time they reached the restaurant she could hardly believe she was actually out on a date with a guy she met just four days ago. He was an incredibly distinguished man, he had a swagger and a confidence about him, that, strangely, excited her.

They sat in a dimly lit corner booth with two wine glasses filled with white wine. He admired the way the recess lighting reflected off her dark hair and the way it made her eyes sparkle. He was so glad the weekend was finally here and he wouldn't have to return to the hospital until Monday. Though, at the same time, he hoped he could see Sango over the weekend.

Miroku didn't know what it was, but he didn't want to be without her. He was captivated and loving it. "You see anything you like?"

Sango looked up from her menu, to Miroku, then back down again. "Well, yes but it's all so expensive. You really didn't have to do this."

"I don't mean to brag…" Miroku said, confidently. "But I got money coming out of my yin yang."

"That doesn't impress me, you know." Sango told him. "I have money too."

"And I wasn't trying to impress you." He said smoothly. "I got other, more enjoyable ways of doing that." He gave her wink and Sango felt herself want to melt into a puddle of ooze.

"Oh?" She asked. "Like what?"

When that devilish grin came to his face, she immediately wished she could take back her words. He leaned across the table, the candlelight from the center danced on his handsome face and his eyes shimmered with mischief. "Let me come home with you tonight and I'll show you."

Sango blushed and then brushed him off with a chuckle. "Oh no. I'm not that easy…"

"But you do like me, don't you?" He asked, his voice held a hopeful note.

"I…I don't know, Miroku." She said, not able to make eye contact with him. He seemed to be unfazed by her reply.

"You don't know?" He asked a bit confused, and he saw the look of sadness on her face. "I'm sorry if I'm pushing you to fast."

"No. It's not you." Sango said. "It's just, I got out of a really bad relationship just three months ago. I've been on a few dates with other men, but that was it. Just one date and then I didn't talk to them anymore."

"So, are you saying you're not going to talk to me anymore after this?" He offered her a grin and she quickly shook her head.

"No. I mean…I…just…I…" She closed her mouth before she said something offensive. Then she felt stupid, but he simply chuckled and she calmed down considerably.

"Hey, look, if you want me back off and give you some time, I will." Miroku told her. "Just tell me. I just…really like you, a lot. I'm sorry if I'm coming onto fast. I know you just met me four days ago at work, in a mental hospital of all places."

Sango giggled and looked at him for the first time all night. "Thank you, Miroku. You're the first guy that's ever said that to me."

"I told you, I'm different from the rest." He said, leaning back into the booth to gaze her. Right now, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

********************************************************************************

Miroku opened the car door for her when they were in front of her apartment again. Sango could see through the sheer curtains at the flickering blue light of the television. Kohaku was probably up watching a movie or playing video games.

He walked her to the door, but held both her wrists gently, so she couldn't open the door and run inside. "I had a really, really nice time to night. I mean that. Genuinely. And I'm not able to say that with a lot of dates."

Sango smiled shyly up at him. "I did too. I really did. Thank you for dinner and the movie."

Yes, the movie. The two and a half hour long chick flick he let her choose that he tried to kiss her through. Of course, she had cut him off by leaning back, turning her head, or even keeping her head on his shoulder the whole time. He said he'd back off, but he couldn't help it.

"Look, can I see you more this weekend?" Miroku asked. "I mean, if you don't have other dates. I'd really like to take you out again."

Sango thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I'm not doing anything tomorrow, if you want to see me then."

"Sure." Miroku said. "I have a psychology class I teach on Saturdays for an extra income, but I'm out of there by 5. How's 6:00?"

"6 sounds great." Sango told him. She was reading all of his signs, he wanted a goodnight kiss. But she was always the type who didn't kiss on a first date, and she didn't exactly count lunch together the other day a date. "Well, uhm…goodnight."

She saw his shoulders slump, and she felt like she had crushed his ego. "Goodnight." He said, staring at her for a long moment. She watched as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip and she wondered how that tongue would feel on her own lips. The mere thought made her dizzy with want.

Sango closed the door behind her and peaked out the window as he got back in his red Camero. Once his car was out of sight, she left her sleeping brother on the couch to call Kagome.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Next Saturday, I want a 10 page, typed, report on abnormal behaviors." Miroku announced, wondering if half his students even heard him. Most of the boys had fallen asleep in his class, and the girls just sat and giggled at him.

Sighing, he clicked off his projector and checked his watch. He had ended class early, at 4:30. Why? Because he wanted to get home and get ready for his date. Last night had really bugged him. She didn't even attempt to kiss him and he knew she could see he wanted to kiss her.

If all of his students could laugh and giggle over him, then why didn't she? Whoever her ex-boyfriend was, he must have been a real jerk to cause her to be so skittish. Of course, that didn't stop him from getting what he wanted, and right now, he wanted Sango Noriko.

"Hey, there, professor." A female voice called out to him and he whirled around, hoping it was Sango. But he knew it probably wasn't. And of course, when he turned around he was disappointed but still surprised to see that female voice belonged to his blond co-worker, Hayden.

"Oh, hey there. You scared me." He chuckled. "I…I didn't know you went here."

"I didn't know you worked here." Hayden said, giggling. "I've been here for a whole semester but I didn't see you until you came to work at the hospital."

Miroku gathered his jacket, trying to make a quick exit. "Probably because I never end class early." He said. "I have a strict policy about teaching all 5 hours."

"Oh." Hayden said, checking her watch. "So why not today?"

He shrugged. "Just not into it today, I guess." He said, trying to sound casual. Her crush on him so obvious and he didn't want to tell her it's because he had to get home and get ready to take her gorgeous co-worker out.

"Yea. I'm taking a dance class here, but I wasn't too much into it, either. I think it's the cloudy weather."

"That'll do it." Miroku continued walking down the hall, booking for the front door. He had to get away from her, she was driving him insane. The overly, fruity smell of her perfume made him feel like he was in 7th grade again.

"What are you doing tonight?" Hayden asked. He stopped, mid-step, and turned to face her. "I…I mean I was just wondering, because I'm not doing anything. I just…"

Miroku sighed and decided to come clean. "I…I uh…actually have a date tonight."

"Oh…" Hayden felt her heart sink. Didn't he just have a date last night with Sango? Or at least, that was the rumor that was going around last week at work. Hayden never knew anything, no one ever told her because she couldn't keep a secret, or she got too preoccupied with everyone else's social life that she didn't do her share of the work. It was a personality flaw, but she couldn't really help it.

Then, she took a chance. "With who?"

"Sango." Miroku replied. "I'm sorry, Hayden. I'll see you Monday."

"Yea…" She said, sighing and watched him walk out onto the busy streets of Tokyo. Her sadness slowly melded into anger, and her scorned heart made her hatch an evil plan.

********************************************************************************

"A carriage ride?" Sango asked, as a driver pulled up next to the curb outside her apartment.

"Yes." Miroku said, already inside the small carriage. "Don't you trust me? I figured we'd go on a little romantic tour." He held out his hand to help her inside. "Oh, Sango, this is my good friend Levi, Levi, this is Sango."

Levi, the driver, turned around and smiled offering his hand. Sango took it politely. "Pleased to meet you." He said.

Sango leaned back in her seat and she felt Miroku wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her close. It was strangely a nice feeling, not like when the other men did it. When they did it, it either made her want to pull away or made her feel very uncomfortable. But with Miroku, it almost felt natural, like she belonged.

Levi urged to horse along and the large animal pulled them along.

"Levi's my friend from college. We were roommates." Miroku said.

"Yea, this one back there was wild back in the day. Different woman every week." Levi recalled laughing.

"Hey, I thought I told you to point out my good sides." He reminded him.

"Oh right." He said with a laugh. "Well he did make good grades, and he didn't always sleep with all of those women."

"Exactly."

"Just about 60% of them." He added.

Miroku looked over at Sango, who was surprisingly laughing at their little squabble.

"Hey, you see that house up ahead?" Levi asked as they rounded a corner. Tokyo was a busy city, but it also had it's dark, quiet, residential areas as well.

"Yea." Miroku said, wrapping a blanket around Sango to fight off the chill of the cold October air. "What about it?"

"That's the old crazy house." Levi said. "Didn't you say you worked in one of them now, Keseki?"

"Yea." Miroku said. "That's where I met Sango."

"I'm a nurse at the Tokyo Insane Asylum." She spoke up.

"Well, this house right here…" He stopped his horse and the large animal spit and stomped his hoof in frustration. The animal seemed almost uneasy in front of the large, ominous building. "…was the old insane asylum. I would tell you the story, but I don't want to scare your little girlfriend."

Sango blushed, then scowled. "I'm not his girlfriend, and I'm not scared." She half lied.

"Yea, we can handle it." Miroku urged. "Tell us."

"Well, they say back about 50 years ago that a man was committed to this institution after he slaughtered an entire village of their women." Levi began. "After three weeks in the asylum, one of the nurses came in to give him his medication, and he was gone."

Sango felt a chill as she pictured what kind of feeling that would invoke in her. Levi continued after a moment. "Do you know what happened to him?"

"He escaped?" Sango guessed.

"Worse." Levi replied. "He was released. He had an obsession with pretty girls. Pretty girls with long dark hair, brown eyes, girls that look a lot like you. He often barked like a dog while he devoured his victims in an animal-like manner."

Sango shivered. "Miroku, he's scaring me."

Miroku laughed. "Alright, dude. You're scaring her shitless. Take us to the restaurant please?" He urged, and Levi nudged his horse along. The horse seem to almost bolt ahead and Miroku winced at the pain in his neck.

"Geez, what's wrong with your horse?" Miroku asked, as they came back onto the main road.

"I don't think he liked that house." Levi said, trying his best to keep the animal calm.

Sango hugged the blanket tighter around her and peeked out of the side of the carriage. "Is…that all true?"

"It's a legend." Levi said. "Some say it's true, but there's really no record of it happening. Just a few mysterious murders back in the 50's. Since all the victims were young, brunette women someone came up with that crazy story to scare people." He laughed. "I simply tell it just because I like scaring people."

"Well, it worked." Sango said, bitterly. Miroku pulled her close to him.

"Don't worry, my dear. I won't let any ol' crazy lunatic get my girl." He teased.

Sango smiled at the thought of being _his_ girl. It was something she could definitely get used to and she had even thought about it a lot over the past week.

********************************************************************************

Once again, the two were in front of her door. Miroku leaned against the doorframe and stared at her for a long moment. He had another chance to kiss her goodnight and she didn't seem as objectionable tonight.

Maybe the romantic carriage ride was a good idea, as Levi had pointed out to him. His stupid scary story didn't hurt either, it was just an excuse for him to pull her close and the cold October air was another circumstance he used to his advantage.

"I had a lot of fun tonight." Sango said, not sure of what else to say.

"Me too." Miroku said, propping an elbow on her front door. "Mind if I call you tomorrow?"

"No. I don't mind." Sango told him with a smile. "I'll actually be looking forward to it." She said, making no move to open the door, partially because Miroku had conveniently blocked the handle with his body. His wonderful, magnificent, hard male body. Sango had to bite her lip to keep from moaning just thinking about it.

Since when had she become to undeniably attracted to him?

"Good." Miroku said, leaning in closer to her until his face was just mere inches from hers. "Because I've been looking forward to this all night." He closed her space between them, his soft lips brushing hers in what he meant to be a brief kiss. But the sensations it invoked in him, didn't allow him to pull away so quickly.

He pushed her against the door gently and ran his tongue over her closed lips. She pulled onto his shirt, pushing her back harder against the door and parted her lips to allow him access. His fingers were intertwined in her hair as she felt him expertly caress her tongue and lips with his own.

She felt her knees grow weaker and weaker by the minute as she secretly felt him up over his clothes. She felt his arousal nudge her thigh and her eyes flew open. She really didn't know she excited him that much.

He pulled away from her, even more surprised than she was at the reaction his body was having. Not only was it embarrassing, especially for him, but it seemed to have frightened her. "Wow." He said simply. "Uh…" He un-tucked his dress shirt and let it fall over his groin area, as if to hide it, which worked for now.

"I…I better go inside." She said, knowing she was blushing like crazy.

"Yea, I better go before this goes too far for tonight." Miroku laughed, feeling slightly less embarrassed. It's not like his size was anything to be ashamed of after all, and he knew it too. "I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Yes." She said, with a smile. He leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. If he would have kissed her on the lips again, he didn't think he would be able to stop. Then, he turned around to walk back to his car.

"Uhm, Miroku?" Sango asked.

"Yes, love?" He asked, leaning against the hood of his car as he regarded her patiently. He was hoping she would invite him in, then again that probably wasn't going to happen. Sango was a nice girl and nice girls didn't do things like that.

"Do you think Levi's story was true?" Sango asked.

"Nah. I doubt it." Miroku said. "Levi's a dumbass. That's why he drives a horse around Tokyo and smells horseshit all night for a living."

She giggled and suddenly felt better. "Goodnight, Miroku."He was right, it was just some stupid legend after all. She waved to him, and he waved back, still trying to fight off that intense attack of lust. One he knew not even a cold shower was going to ward off.

"Night, Sango. Sleep tight!" He called out the window of his Camero, and sped off.

Sango's heart was still pounding as she stepped back into her apartment. Kohaku was playing his 360, sitting cross-legged on the couch. "Hey sis, have fun with your man?"

"He's not my man." Sango called out. "He's my friend."

"I don't kiss my friends like that." Kohaku said with an evil grin. "How'd his stomach taste?"

"Shut up, Kohaku!" Sango said, blushing. "I can't believe you were spying on us!"

"I'm a little brother. That's what little brother's do." Kohaku told her. "You should do that stuff in private if you don't want me to spy."

Her blush deepened and then she started to wander how far it would have gone if they were in private. She probably wouldn't have stopped even if she did feel that surprisingly large erection. Just thinking about his size made her entire body ache with need.

Damn, he was getting to her. Just like he wanted. And she was allowing it. He would hurt her, just like her ex-boyfriend Jayceon Taylor did. He took her virginity, dated her for 3 years, asked her to marry him, then just like that, went out to a nightclub and kissed another woman.

Miroku would probably do the same to her. In fact, he probably did it to some other woman in his past. Levi _did_ say he had a new girlfriend every week back in college.

But something about the way he looked at her, held her, and kissed her made her want to trust him. It was different from the way Jayceon ever kissed her. It was slow, yet passionate. Gentle, yet hungry. Her heart had never pounded so fast and loud in her life.

Miroku Keseki had definitely gotten to her.

********************************************************************************

Sunday night, Sango's cell phone rang just as she was preparing for bed. She red the name on the screen and quickly answered, trying to sound cool and calm on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hey!" Miroku's cheerful voice sounded over the earpiece. "Hope I didn't wake you."

"No. I was awake." She said. "Just getting ready for bed."

"Yea, me too." He said, with a relaxed sigh. "I was laying in bed and I thought I should call and tell you goodnight and I'll see you in the morning."

"That's sweet, Miroku." She said, with a smile as she sat on her bed.

"You know what would really be sweet is if I can say that to you while laying beside you one night." He said. "Whisper it in your ear as I press my naked body against yours."

Sango heard her heart beat so loud she could barely hear anything else, despite how much she really liked him talking to her like that, she couldn't let him know she enjoyed it. "Too bad you won't ever get to experience that."

"Oh, I'm not so sure." He laughed.

Suddenly, her phone beeped. She looked at the screen and saw that Amber's number appeared "Oh, can you hold on for a second? I got another call."

"I'd wait all night if I had to."

Sango simply giggled and pressed the switch button. "Amber, I'm on the phone with the sexy doctor. What do you want?"

There was a pause on the other end. Then, much to her horror and very amused male voice came over the other end. "Uh, Sango, I don't think you switched over correctly." Miroku said, with a laugh.

Sango was so embarrassed she actually felt lightheaded, then like a complete idiot. "Oh…I…uh…I'm sorry." Then he line went silent. "Oh my god, Amber, you won't believe what I just did!"

"What did you just did?" Amber asked, munching on potato chips in Sango's ear, using incorrect grammar on purpose.

"I thought I was talking to you and I called Miroku 'sexy', but I was actually on the phone with him!" Sango told her, only to receive an appreciative laugh from her friend, 'The Bingo girl'.

"Oh, that's hilarious." She said laughing. "Yea, I saw him, he's a fucking hottie, but you know I've always liked that police officer, Nelly."

"Yes." Sango said. "I know. You talk about him constantly. You know, you should go and ask him out. I've already been on two dates with Miroku."

"No way." Amber said. "He probably likes Hayden or someone who works on your floor. Nobody really even knows who I am. Just the girl who sits downstairs for six hours and calls Bingo numbers." She wiped her hands of crumbs. "Alright, girl, well I'll let you go. I don't want you to keep Mr. Sexy doctor waiting too long."

Sango growled irritated. "Alright, alright. So I think he's sexy. But so does Hayden…he'll probably end up liking her more eventually…" She stated, rather sadly. It had happened before. Hayden had landed a date with the sexy physical therapist, Koga, who actually had taken an interest in Kagome at first.

Then there was Kuranosuke, who Sango wasn't too fond of, but Hayden had landed a date with him when he was hired as a cook in the cafeteria, and rumor had it that he was planning on asking Sango out before Hayden had snatched him up.

Sometimes, that girl really made her sick.

"Nah, I doubt it." Amber's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "I think he's really into you. I'll talk to you tomorrow at work, don't keep him waiting!" She urged her.

"Alright, I'm going!" Sango assured her. "Goodnight."

"Night." Then the line was silent and she switched over. "Miroku?"

"Oh hey." His voice sounded distant.

"Do you have me on speakerphone?" She asked.

"Yea, sorry." He said. "I was getting dressed. Hold on a minute, I'm going to take off my shirt."

Sango tried her best not to imagine what he must look like, half-clad in nothing but boxers and sprawled on his bed talking to _her_ on the phone. That was definitely his plan. "Are you trying to get me into bed, Miroku?"

"No, that, you will do on your own." He responded cleverly. "So you think I'm a sexy doctor, do you?" He asked. "Well, I think you're a sexy nurse. It's going to be so hard to act professional around each other now, you know that right?"

"Yes. That's exactly why I usually don't accept dates with people I work closely with." Sango told him. "But that being said, I did have fun the past couple nights."

"Oh, me too, trust me." He said. "Well, it's getting late. I want to make sure you get your rest, though I really don't want to stop talking to you."

Sango smiled and looked at herself in the mirror. She had a light in her eyes, one she hadn't seen in a long, long time. She felt happy, truly happy, even if nothing ever became of her and Miroku. "I don't either. But…I am pretty tired." She said.

"Yea, me 2." He sighed. "Don't have too many dirty dreams about me, OK?"

Sango grinned for the nth time that night, her face was beginning to hurt but she didn't mind. "Trust me. I won't." She said.

"Can't say the same about you." He joked tiredly. "Goodnight, Sango."

"Goodnight, Miroku." She said, and then hung up.

She closed her eyes and tried her best to get him out of her mind, but all through the night she saw him in her dreams. Dreaming about their first kiss they shared, the way his arms felt around her and even some dreams she'd rather not remember she had in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sango was there, early as ever, despite she had woken up late. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so good and never wanted to wake up. For the last hour she had been there she had been searching the hospital grounds for Miroku, even though she knew the psychiatrist didn't come in until at least two hours after her 8:00 A.M. shift began.

She was busy administering Hamilton's medication as he sat obediently still for her. She disposed of the needle and wiped down his arm. "Alright, all done." She said, cheerfully. "Would you like for Nurse Kagome to bring you some breakfast?"

Hamilton nodded and Sango smiled. Miroku's therapy sessions with Hamilton seemed to be working. Though Sango was still his favourite nurse, he was beginning to be able to separate himself from her without the wild fits and crying.

She promised him she'd be back later and stepped out of the room, waiting for the immediate noise of protest from inside. But Hamilton remained quiet, much to Sango's relief.

Miroku walked into the nurse's station to gather his files and check his appointments for the day. Hayden was sitting at her desk, trying to ignore him. She had been upset since Saturday, and the dreary, cold Monday morning did nothing to brighten her mood.

"Hey, Sango, how's Hamilton?" He asked her, looming close to her as she rummaged through her medicine cart for Howard Bailey's blood sugar medication.

"He's doing a lot better." Sango responded, trying to ignore the fact his presence made her giddy and nervous inside. It should really be illegal for someone to look as good as Miroku looked right now. "Kagome's bringing him some breakfast."

"My first appointment's in just a few minutes with him." Miroku said. "I want to ask if you wanted to have lunch with me again?"

She thought for a moment. If she went out with him again, and this time, feeling the way she did towards him, she wasn't so sure she'd make it back to work in time. She smiled a bit at the thought. "Ask me again in a couple hours." She told him and pushed her cart along towards Howard Bailey's room.

Howard was awake, eating his breakfast calmly and watching ESPN with a lot of interest, but when he saw that it was her who had come to visit him all his attention was on her and he smiled. "Well, hello there." He said.

Sango had learned not to take his nonchalant attitude with a grain of salt. He was definitely an unstable man, and she didn't want to provoke him. "Hello, are you ready for your medicine?"

"Yep." He said, swinging his legs over the side of his bed and rolling up his sleeves. "Anything for my pretty nurse."

Sango simply smiled and filled a syringe full of clear serum. Then put the needle in his arm and wiped it clean. "Alright, Mr. Bailey all done."

"So soon?" He asked, pushing his food away. "You want to leave so soon?"

"Mr. Bailey, I have to go and take care of the other patients, OK?"

"Don't you talk like that to me!" His mood swing was a not a surprise and Sango backed away from him. "I bet you wouldn't think twice about sleeping with that stuck up doctor, would you? But when it comes to me your hesitant. It's because you think I'm crazy don't you?"

"N-No. Mr. Bailey, I don't think your crazy." Sango backed up until her back hit the wall.

"Yes you do!" He said, getting up from his bed and running over towards her. The way he looked out his eyes had changed and his expression curled into an evil grin. "You just don't see how good I can make you feel." His voice was low and sinister and it made Sango quiver in fear.

Not wanting to startle him she gently pushed him away. "Mr. Bailey…"

"Call me Howard." He said, grabbing her wrist and squeezing it hard. "Don't push me away!" He yelled, and slung he across the room. Sango immediately grabbed onto his bed to avoid falling over and she watched in horror as he approached her.

He forced her down onto the bed and began to tug at her uniform. She felt the tears spill down her face as she kicked and screamed, trying her best to fight him off.

"Miroku! Hayden! Anybody!" She screamed, then felt even more helpless when she felt Howard wrap his hand around her ankles to keep her from kicking. His palms were calloused and rough and his breath was horrid. "No! Please! Don't hurt me! Somebody help me!" She hollered, still trying to free her legs from his grasp.

He pulled her top off, exposing her bra and she started to cry harder. "Please, Howard, don't hurt me!"

"Shut up, bitch!" He screamed.

Then suddenly, the door burst open. "Sango!"

The unmistakable male voice belonged to Miroku. He ripped Howard off of her and sent the crazed maniac in the floor. Sango sat up, her attention on her sore and bruised ankles, then on her open shirt.

"Are you OK?"

"Yes, for the most part." Sango said. "Isn't anyone out there? I've been calling for help for the past five minutes." She said, rebut toning her uniform.

Howard was trying to get back onto his feet, but just as he got up, Nelly rushed in and knocked him back down again, handcuffing his wrists then forcing him up.

"Don't worry, Sango. You won't have to deal with him again." Nelly told her, then pushed the man out the door. Howard turned around, his eyes on Sango the entire time and he gnashed his teeth like a dog at her before Nelly nudged him down the hall.

"Did anyone even hear me?" Sango asked again, and she noticed Miroku looked very angry.

"Yea, Hayden's the only one out there. She claims she didn't hear you, but even Hamilton heard you and he's behind a closed door 5 doors down." He said. "Sango, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, I was all the way on the other side of the floor. I heard Hamilton screaming and yelling in his room and when I left my therapy session with Raven to check on him, that's when I heard you."

"No, Miroku, it's not your fault." Sango told him. "I have to get back to work." She said, stepping off the bed and then wincing in pain. "Kami, my ankles!"

Miroku supported her by putting his hands on her hips and lifting her back onto the bed. "I think you need to take the rest of the day off. Do you think they're broken?"

"No, I can move them." She said, wiggling her foot. "They're just sore." Tears came to her eyes and she tried to not cry again.

"Look, why don't you talk to Jay…I'm sure he'll let you go if he knows what happened. You can't work when your this upset." He said, calmly. "Do you think you can walk?"

"Yes." She said, stepping onto her feet again. After a few steps she got used to the ache in her ankles. She was glad to finally be out of Howard's room, and she didn't bother confronting Hayden, instead she headed straight for Jay's office which was a pretty far walk, but she insisted she could make it without Miroku's help.

Miroku stood at the counter as Hayden tried her best to ignore him. "Hello? Hayden…"

"Yes?" She asked sweetly.

"I know you heard her! I know you did!"

Hayden stood up, not speaking a word from the time it took her to come from behind the counter until she was right next to him. "I didn't hear her…"

"Bullshit!" Miroku growled. "I should report you to Jay."

"Go ahead. You can't prove anything!" Hayden says. "Do it and I'll get you back…Sango too." She turned from him and walked back behind the counter to gather some files. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have work to do."

Miroku clenched his fist and pounded it down on the hard surface. His patience was wearing thin with this girl and she still had the nerve to throw him flirting glances after she just threatened him. Damn, he wished he would have had a tape recorder. He wasn't one who wanted to get anyone fired or make anyone miserable, but he had good reasons now.

He checked his watch and decided to calm his nerve down by getting a coffee, then getting back to work in a half hour.

********************************************************************************

Tuesday morning Sango was a back, not allowing yesterday's events to slow her down. She had went home early yesterday, cuddled on the couch with her cat Kirara and watched movies. Then she took a long cat nap and woke up feeling refreshed.

Then, she realized, she had Miroku to thank. He was the first to come to her rescue, he stopped doing his job just to come and save her from something horrible that could have happened.

She shuddered when she thought of how close she had come to something horrible happening to her. Miroku snuck up behind her, but not too scare her. He patted her on the head with a folder lightly and laughed.

"How's _my_ favourite nurse today?" He asked. "I hope she missed her favourite doctor."

Sango gave him a smile. "You're not my favourite doctor."

"Oh, I'm not, huh?" Miroku asked. "I'm Raven's." He said, grinning. "Crap. I have an appointment with Mr. Banks. Do you think we can have lunch together today since we couldn't yesterday?"

Sango thought for a moment, then looked over at Hayden who sitting at the computer, quiet as a mouse. She still didn't know of Hayden's threat and Miroku didn't take it too seriously. She was just any other jealous female. And Miroku had a lot of experience with jealous females. None of their threats were serious.

"Sure." Sango said after a moment.

"Awesome!" He said. "I'll see you at noon then."

Sango sighed and watched him walk down the hall until he disappeared around the corner. She had been doing that a lot lately, sighing and watching Miroku just walk. Everything about the man intrigued her, even the way he strutted around the hospital like he owned it.

Normally, the kind of cockiness and arrogance irritated her, but Miroku just had a way about him.

Sango looked at her time list and discovered it was time for Hamilton's daily medication. Pushing her cart towards his room, she tried her best to ignore the looks of hate her blond co-worker was giving her, but she could feel the other women's eyes burning holes through the back of her head.

Just as she finished with Hamilton's medication, Inu Yasha and Nelly appeared in the hallway. It was rare to see the two of them on her floor unless they were bringing in a new patient or something happened like it had yesterday. Something must have been up.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Inu Yasha stopped to fill her in. Since it somewhat concerned her. "Sango, I don't you to freak out. But…Howard Bailey has escaped?"

Sango felt her mouth go dry. "But that's impossible. He was in solitary confinement. He couldn't have escaped out of that room."

"I know." Inu Yasha said. "It's all so strange, but me and Nelly are looking for clues everywhere. We don't see any sign of him escaping from his room, which we find really peculiar." The white-haired man turned to Nelly who was searching through files on the nurses desk. "Nelly, go check the recreation room. I'm going to go and search the physical therapy department."

"Right." Nelly said, then quickly took off in the opposite direction, then just as quickly stopped. "Uhm, sir…isn't that where Amber is?"

"Yea, so?" He asked. "We got business to take care of."

Gathering his courage, Nelly continued down the hall. He knew in just a few minutes, he would be face to face with his object of desire. The Bingo girl. Sure, Miroku and Inu Yasha might have laughed at him for liking her, but in his eyes, she was beautiful.

********************************************************************************

"Miroku, do you think he'll come after me again?" Sango asked, staying very close to him as he led her into the same small café he took her into last week on their first lunch date.

Miroku didn't want to lie to her. It was a possibility, if they didn't catch this creep soon, that he could come after Sango. The guy could be anywhere in Tokyo and it could take days, maybe even weeks to find him. "Look, Sango, I'm going to do everything I can to protect you."

"Miroku…" She said. "You…care about me that much?"

"Of course I do, Sango." He told her. "No matter how tough you might think you are, you're still a woman and you need a man's protection. I just want to look out for you and make sure you're safe."

Her face was tinted pink and she tried her best to hide it from his view, but he had already noticed and he smiled back at her. "No need to be shy around me. Especially after this past weekend."

This only caused her to blush more and Miroku was loving it. He wondered what made this girl so special to him. He had taken her out on a couple dates, kissed her, and normally by now he would have started talking to other women. He would have normally gotten bored and his wandering eye would have found him another pretty girl to flirt with and see how far he could get.

However, with her, the more he got the more he wanted and he couldn't see himself becoming bored. He hoped he wasn't scaring her by his staring at work, or even right now at the café as he sat across the table from her. He couldn't seem to take his pretty blue eyes away from her.

"I'm not shy." Sango lied. "It's just…this is all new to me."

"What's new to you?" Miroku asked. "Being around a man. Thought you said you were engaged."

"I was…" She told him. "It's just…well…he never made me feel like this."

"Feel like what?"

"Like…I'm important." Sango told him. "I've never had a guy want to spend so much time with me. I guess it's just a little weird."

"Every woman deserves to feel wanted." He said. "Especially one as beautiful as you."

********************************************************************************

Nelly walked into the recreation center located on the bottom floor of the hospital. It was the less intimidating of the entire building. Large, peaceful water fountains trickled into a pool dammed by fake rocks. Even televisions played in front of the exercise bikes and treadmills that were for the patients.

Then there was the Bingo room, which is where a lot of patients were seated down. Kagome was helping Hamilton mark his cards while Hayden was helping Raven, who wouldn't stop talking about Dr. Keseki. Even if Raven was insane, that didn't mean she thought any less of the appealing doctor.

Amber sat in the far corner at a large table and spin the bingo wheel until a ball fell out onto the trey. "B-6!" She announced.

Nelly gathered his courage and slowly approached her. Maybe he should just take Miroku's advice and ask her out. But not right now. He wasn't ready for and he already had to speak to her about business, which is clearly not what he had on his mind right now.

However, he had to speak to her for Sango's safety and the safety of society. Though, he highly doubted he would find any clues as to how Howard Bailey escaped by poking around the Bingo room.

"Excuse me?" Nelly asked.

Amber stared up at him, her face immediately turning a dark crimson red. "Oh, hello…may I help you?"

"I'm just wondering if you saw anything--" He stopped, his throat suddenly went dry and he forced himself to swallow. "Anything suspicious around here the past couple days. We are looking for clues on how Mr. Bailey escaped from his cell."

Amber blushed and looked down at the Bingo ball in her hand, then shook her head. "No. I heard about it this morning, but I didn't see anything suspicious." She said. "O-72." She called out.

"Well, thank you for your time. If you have any questions…" He trailed off and pulled a card from his pocket. "Call me…"

Amber felt as if she was going to die. Nelly had just handed her his phone number, not the police departments number, but his own personal cell phone number. She tried her best to keep her cool and smiled. "I--I will."

********************************************************************************

"Miroku, we have to be back at work in 10 minutes." Sango told him, checking her watch. "We should head back."

"Damn." Miroku said. "I forgot about work." He laughed, took one last bite of his mostly finished sandwich and a sip of his drink. Sango reached for her purse but he stopped her. "I got it."

"Miroku, are you sure?"

"Hey, you didn't protest the bill when I took you to those expensive restaurants this weekend." He pointed out.

"Well, if you really want to pay for it." She said with a shrug.

He slapped a 50 down on the table, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her out the door. "You know…" He trailed off thoughtfully and allowed a grin to come to his face. "we're technically not at work anymore. We don't have to act so professional."

Sango looked at him, trying to sound perplexed. She knew exactly what he was implying but she wasn't the type to just make out with a guy she really barely knew in broad daylight. "W-what do you mean?" She stammered as he trapped her against his car.

"I mean, I want to show you my affection before we go back to work." He said, then brushed his lips with hers. She responded immediately and involuntarily, running her fingers through his thick black hair at his nape. After several heated seconds his mouth moved to her neck and her eyes scanned the parking lot, realizing that people were starting to stare.

"Miroku…people are watching."

"Let them watch." He growled nipping at the skin on her neck.

She pushed him away, very reluctantly. "If we're going to do this, can't you take me some place more private?"

"We don't have much of an option. We _do_ have to make it back to work, remember dear?" He asked, looking around. "Fallow me." He grabbed her hand and after a moment of resistance, she fallowed.

"Miroku! Where are we going?"

"Just behind the restaurant. Don't worry, no one can see us back there." She fallowed him until they were out of sight and then he gave her a sly grin. "What are you telling me you want a quickie?"

"_No_!" Sango protested with a giggle. "I just…liked what we were doing back there."

"Well let's not waste anymore time, then." Miroku whispered, then pulled her to him. He caressed her lips softly with his tongue, licking at the outline of lips. He teased her with his tongue, making her entire body beg for more.

His hands glided along her curves, stopping at her rear. He paused for a moment and waited for her protest, but she just kept kissing him until he himself felt dizzy with desire. Miroku gave her a nice, firm squeeze and Sango pushed him harder against the brick wall.

Despite the chilly, fall air his body was becoming heated. He felt her brush his knee against his very excited erection and he groaned against her mouth, then pulled away to kiss her neck. "If you don't want me to take you right here behind this restaurant, I suggest you stop now." His voice vibrated against her neck, as his lips trailed over her skin.

She just grinned and was about her lift her leg again when she felt something hit her ankle. "Miroku, I think you dropped something."

"I'll pick it up later." He said, the only care he had in the world was her and nothing else. He could have dropped a million bucks and not have given a damn right now. All the blood at left his head and settled in his pants, but when he opened his eyes he seemed to sober up. "Holy shit!"

Sango stiffened. "What? What is it?"

"Sango, stay calm…"

She watched him, his eyes were fixed on the ground and he looked genuinely frightened and disgusted. "Miroku, what is it?"

"Stay close to me, and when you look behind you promise me you won't scream." He said, holding her hand. Curiosity and fear were about to kill her, so she slowly turned her head and her eyes widened.

She slapped a hand over her mouth and held in a scream that came out more as a whimper and she darted her gaze over to Miroku.

There, in the tall, overgrown grass behind the restaurant was a human body of a girl. Her face had been mangled beyond recognition and her thick, pink-coloured hair was crusted with dried blood. In the middle of her mangled flesh, her blue eyes were popped open and frozen in fear.

As if that sight wasn't disturbing enough, it seemed as if he right hand had been gnawed off and various tooth marks were on her skin. After a few seconds of just staring, Sango looked away and started to cry. "Miroku, she touched my ankle."

"We have to report this to the police."

"How are we going to explain how we found it?" Sango asked, trying her best to keep her composure. "Tell them we were about to have sex behind a café?"

"I'll make up something." He said, dialing Nelly's number from the card he was given earlier.

Sango thought back to the day before as she stared down the body, Miroku's distant words of reporting a homicide to the police swam in her head. When Howard was arrested, he looked back at her, gnashing his teeth like a rabid dog. By the marks left on his this poor girl, this could have very well meant this was the work of Howard Bailey.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Her name was Ayame Harrison. 16 year old daughter of Sakura and Brock Harrison." Inu Yasha announced. "She worked at the café. Her manager says she came in this morning, worked for about an hour before she went to the back to take out the trash. She never came back in, but he didn't think too much of it, since the girl was always running off from work to go hang out with her friends."

It was Wednesday evening, the middle of a long, hard and stressful week for both Miroku and Sango. Everything was done for the day, all appointments, all medications and normally everyone would have headed home, except for the witnesses.

Sango looked up at Inu Yasha and Nelly who were both reviewing their notes from the interview they had with the café owner. "Do you think Howard's escape at anything to do with this?"

"It's a possibility." Nelly stated, clearing off the nurses station where Hayden and Sango worked at. Miroku was seated in Hayden's usual seat just in front of her computer, reclined back, trying his best to relax. Sango was in her normal seat, her entire body shaking from the upset of the day before.

She had spent nearly all night on the phone the night before discussing this with Miroku. It was an awful, unfortunate thing to happen and especially at such an intimate moment in their…relationship. If she could even call it that. It seemed more like random acts of sexually charged intimacy to her and she wasn't even sure if Miroku wanted a relationship.

"By the way…" Inu Yasha growled, looking at the two peculiarly. "How _did_ you two discover the body anyway? What are you doing behind the restaurant?"

Sango felt the heat rise up her neck and to her cheeks and she glanced over at Miroku who simply stayed calm. "I can't reveal that information out of respect for Sango."

"Oh, I know exactly what that means." Nelly chimed in. "You two were back their messing around when, bam, you saw it."

Sango couldn't make eye contact with the three men, she simply looked down at her knees and felt shameful.

"Something like that." Miroku said, noticing the look of embarrassment on Sango's face. "But, hey look guys, this stays here. Don't tell anyone else. I don't want Sango to get a reputation or anything."

Inu Yasha made a low grumble of disappointment and Nelly nudged him harshly. The hanyou folded his arms. "Fine. For Sango-chan's sake."

Sango forced a smile. "Thank you…" She smiled at Miroku and realized at that moment, maybe he did want more than just sex. Maybe he did respect her and want her to find happiness after all.

"Well, I see it this way…" Nelly said, leaning against the wall. "If you wouldn't have been back there, who knows when Ayame's body would have been found?"

"Yea, it could have been days, weeks even." Inu Yasha informed, looking up at the clock. "Well, I'm headed home to get dinner and hit the hay. Got a big day tomorrow."

"We should do the same." Miroku said, standing up. "May I walk you out?" He asked, looking at Sango as he helped her with her jacket. The overnight nurses had just started to arrive and that was their cue to leave.

"Sure." Sango agreed, hesitantly.

Nelly nodded at them and smiled as he led her down the hallway towards the main exit of the hospital.

********************************************************************************

"This is the last picture I have of Ayame." Sakura Harrison pulled out a school picture of her daughter Thursday afternoon at Tokyo police station.

Sango had gotten a lucky break, along with Miroku. They had to leave work to come down and talk to Ayame's parents about what they had seen. After explaining the story of what happened, leaving out the intimate elements of the truth of course, Sakura looked as if she was about to cry.

Her husband, Brock Harrison, who's occupation was a medical doctor at Tokyo's largest hospital, comforted his wife. They also learned that Sakura had just had her second child five years ago after years of trying for another one.

She had always been proud of her two girls, and Brock had even been working hard on saving up a college fund for his daughter. Of course, as always, the parents were suspects but were quickly taken off the radar after some question and more examinations on the body.

But the police would leave that up to the forensics.

Sango took the picture of the 10th grade school girl, smiling happily in her picture.

Sakura wiped a tear away from her eye and held Brock's hand. "She was always such a happy girl. She just went to her homecoming with her new boyfriend two weeks ago…" She said. "I'd give anything to help her dress up for that again…"

Sango felt as if her heart was going to break into pieces. Losing a child was the hardest thing a parent could ever experience and she couldn't imagine the pain and anguish her parents were feeling now. It must have been indescribable.

"Tell me," Brock spoke up. They had so many questions for them, but they just had to know. The police weren't talking much, so the long-time married couple were getting all they could out of Miroku and Sango. "Could you tell what kind of weapon was used?" It was a grim detail, Brock wanted to know everything he could about the murder of his daughter.

Miroku looked over at Sango for a long moment. "Well, this might be hard to believe…but we don't think we used a weapon."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, immediately becoming anxious.

"We think he killed her his bare hands, maybe even his teeth…"

Brock was more shocked now than angry. "What kind of sick son of a bitch would do that to a 16 year old girl? Sakura, I swear to Buddha I'm going to find this man and make sure he suffers the same fate my little girl did."

Inu Yasha stepped in the room. "We're going to do all we can, sir, to make sure this maniac is brought to justice. Sango, you're needed back at work. Miroku, Jay says he needs you to come in and talk to Hamilton again. Apparently he's had a dream he wants to tell you about."

"Right." He said, standing up. "It was very nice meeting you Mr. and Mrs. Harrison. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Sakura simply nodded and took his hand, then smiled sweetly at Sango. Brock gave him a firm handshake and smiled at Sango before Miroku led her away from them.

"Kami, that must be so hard. I couldn't imagine…"

"Yea, neither could I." Miroku said. "I don't even have children and that breaks my heart."

"I feel like this all my fault for some reason." She said as they walked back to Miroku's car just outside the police station. Opening the door for her, he looked at her quite perplexed as she got in.

"How?"

"Well, you know, Howard was obsessed with me and if this is him doing all these horrible things it's because of me."

"Hey, don't feel that way." Miroku assured her. "Look, even if it is Howard doing all of this stuff, it has nothing to do with you. He's insane to begin with."

Sango looked at him as he closed the car door and a few seconds later slipped in the driver's seat beside him. "I know I shouldn't worry so much about it. It's just…kind of scary to think he's lose and running around Tokyo somewhere. No one really knows what he's capable of."

"Well, don't worry about a thing. I'm always going to be there to protect you. You know all you have to do is call."

********************************************************************************

Friday morning came all too early for Sango. She hadn't slept good at all and when her alarm rang at 6:30, she felt like smashing it into a million pieces. She had a full day of caring for her patients and Miroku had his usual therapy group.

At least today might be easier at acting "professional" around one another. That had become increasingly difficult, along with the increasing numbers of heated stares from across the hallway. She hadn't seen him for a record breaking three hours and she thought she might actually get through today without being tempted by his charm and charisma.

But she was wrong.

By lunch time, the doctor was free to roam about the building and annoy the nurses. Sango was too busy to leave, so instead he decided to hang around her and Hamilton as she took him to lunch in the cafeteria, much to the jealousy of Hayden.

Hamilton of course was delighted that Miroku had joined him and his favourite nurse. He had become very comfortable with Miroku over the past couple of weeks, which was saying a lot since the only person he really behaved for was Sango.

"Are you free tonight?" Miroku asked taking a bite of his less than perfect burger. He really hated hospital food, but being in Sango's company made it bearable. "Maybe…I can take you out to a late dinner?"

Sango pushed her salad around, realizing half the lettuce was dead. She had really enjoyed going out somewhere for lunch but after Wednesday's events, she wasn't so sure she was ready to go back to that café. "Don't you have school early in the morning?"

"Not until 9." Miroku replied. "I would have asked you out this morning, but Hayden has been giving me death stares all day. I figured I'd ask you away from her…"

"I don't know, Miroku." Sango told him. "My brother has a football game tonight at school…he really likes for me to be there."

He thought for a minute and wasn't going to let her use that as an excuse. "Alright, then we'll go to his game, grab dinner on the way and eat in the stadium."

"You mean, you'd really want to go to Kohaku's football game?" She asked. "It's his first game of the season where he's not being benched."

Miroku nodded. "Sure, anytime to spend with you is fine with me."

********************************************************************************

It was the last quarter of the game and surprisingly the couch allowed Kohaku to actually participate after Sango had complained to his school that they weren't putting him on the field. Apparently, her relentless arguing worked.

The timer was quickly counting down until the end of the 4th quarter and Sango cheered when Kohaku got possession of the ball. She was proud of him, but she honestly couldn't wait until the game was over. Her bum was beginning to get numb from sitting on the cold metal of the bleachers.

Miroku was beside her, and had been the whole time, aside from the time he left to throw their Wacdonald's wrappers in the trashcan. He sat beside her, his arm around her and keeping her warm with a blanket from his car the entire time. He even was lucky enough to steal a couple kisses from her, which he enjoyed.

Kohaku made the last touch down on the first game, bringing his team and his school to a fantastic win. Maybe that would teach his coach to let him play more.

The stadium started to clear and Sango stood up along with Miroku to meet Kohaku, who was chatting with his friend, Souta and didn't even realize the two were standing there. "Oh, hey sis." He said, with a smile.

"Kohaku, I'm so proud of you." She said. "You did a great job." She placed a kiss on his head and he simply blushed. "I'm too old for you to do that, now. Geez."

Miroku laughed and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. His palm was warm and rough, yet gentle and comforting.

"Well, we just wanted to congratulate you." Sango said. "Are you coming home tonight after your celebration dinner?"

"Uh, actually, Souta wanted to know if I could spend the night. I told him I'd have to check with you first…" He said, hopefully. "So…can I?"

"Alright." She told him. "But don't forget to take your asthma medication, and don't stay up too late. And don't make prank phone calls."

"Fine, fine. I promise. You don't have to treat me like I'm 12!"

"You are 12." Sango pointed out with a smile. "Goodnight Kohaku."

"Night." Kohaku called out, then he and Souta ran in the opposite direction to catch up with their teammates.

She turned back to Miroku and he led her out towards the parking lot. His car was parked next to hers, since she had insisted on taking two separate cars. She was obviously trying to distance herself from him, which was fine for now. He just had to keep his persistence up if he wanted any kind of real shot with this woman.

He opened the car of her white Honda for her and she slipped inside, looking up at him. "Thank you for coming to the game, I think it meant a lot to Kohaku, too."

"It was fun." Miroku said with a smile, leaning against the backseat window and staring down at her. "Are you sure you're going to be OK tonight home alone?"

Sango hesitated for a minute. She hadn't thought of that. Normally, she'd be alright with it, she had done it countless of times before, but now with Howard Bailey on the lose she wasn't so sure she was comfortable with it.

"Yes." She replied after a moment. Then she saw his expression change, almost to fear then to worry. His eyes were fixated through the window and he backed away slowly, then his eyes met hers.

"Hey, you know what? It's early, how about I take you out for a cruise around Tokyo?" He asked.

"Miroku…" She groaned. "I'm tired, I want to go home and go to bed. I--"

"C'mon, I really, really, _really_ want to take you for a cruise." He said. "Just get out of the car and come with me, please?"

His eyes darted from her to the backseat and Sango agitatedly grabbed her purse and stepped out. "Why do you want to take me for a cruise? It's almost 11:00!"

Miroku pulled her close to him and lowered his voice to a whisper. "There's a man in your backseat with a knife."

"What?" Sango asked, covering her mouth to keep from screaming. Her eyes wide as she stared back into her car, realizing the danger she had been in for the last two minutes. Or worse, if Miroku hadn't been there she could have driven the maniac home and then who knows what would have happened?

"Don't panic…" He said, checking his own backseat and assured that it was clear. "Get in my car. I'll alert the police, let's just get you out of here."

********************************************************************************

"Well, Miroku." Inu Yasha grumbled over the cell phone he held to his ear as he shined a flashlight in the backseat of Sango's car. "You're mystery man with the knife apparently fled. There's no evidence but I have a forensic team scraping the floorboard for skin and hair samples."

Miroku had taken Sango back to her apartment and even though she insisted she would be fine alone, he wasn't going to leave her there. Someone was out there, looking for Sango and would probably keep killing until he found her. His only job though was to make sure she was alright, that she would be safe, even if he had to stay with her until this entire mess was cleaned up and this vicious killer was put behind bars.

There was no doubt in his mind that the same man in the backseat of the car was the same man who killed Ayame Harrison.

"Well, let me know as soon as you find out something. Especially if it's Howard." Miroku said. "What's the news on Bailey's escape anyway?"

"We've got a security tape we're observing right now." Inu Yasha said. "Nothing unusual about it though. We don't even see Bailey leaving his cell, yet Monday morning he was gone. It's mind-boggling."

"Well, keep me posted." Miroku said. "I'll see you guys Monday."

"Alright, night."

"Night." Miroku clicked off his cell phone and sighed. Then proceeded to lock the doors and windows, stopping momentarily when he heard Sango's voice behind him.

"You're not planning on staying here, are you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I've never let a man stay here overnight. Not even my ex-fiancé."

Miroku turned around and grinned at her, then slowly advanced towards her. His eyes were smoldering as he watched the thin fabric of the turquoise, silk robe she was wearing cling to her body. "Well, I'm different. I'm here to protect you."

"From who?" She asked.

"Oh, I don't know…the vicious creep that was in the backseat of your car tonight with a knife?" Miroku asked with a chuckle. "That guys still out there somewhere and he's after you. I want to make sure your safe."

Sango looked at him for a long moment, her eyes softening. "Miroku…I'm fine, really. I appreciate the gesture, but it's a little soon for me. I mean…everything's going so fast and I don't know if I'm ready."

He gave her a lazy, tired grin. "You sound like we're going to have sex or something. I mean, that wouldn't be a bad idea, but…"

"Miroku!"

"I'm kidding!" He told her. "I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to. I promise. I'll even sleep on the couch if you're that uncomfortable."

"Really?"

"Yes." Miroku told her. "So do me a favor and relax. Go run a nice bath, relax. You've had a hard week." He kissed her briefly and she felt her heart jump in her chest.

"Thank you." She said, softly. "You…can make yourself at home. I'm going to take a bath and try to relax before bed."

"Alright." He said, sitting down on her couch. "You got cable?"

"Satellite."

"Awesome!" He cheered and flipped on her television and tuned into the sports channel. Every time he watched ESPN he thought back to Howard and how calm, collected and normal he seemed just last week when he had a short conversation with him, just as if he was one of his buddies.

And now, Howard was a raging lunatic who escaped out of his solitary cell somehow. It was a mysterious happening and he just hoped Police would be able to get to the bottom of it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Sango stepped out of the shower after nearly half an hour of washing and conditioning her hair, and shaving her legs. Miroku was right. The hot bath had calmed her down considerably and her nerves weren't on edge anymore.

She had been able to relax for at least once this week. Though, it still made her feel jittery knowing that a very attractive man was sitting on her living room couch watching sports highlights.

Starting up her hairdryer, she allowed herself to think about him and how she really felt him about him. His kiss, his scent, his touch, his voice…everything was extremely appealing to her.

After her hair was decently dried, she stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a short tank top and sleep shorts. Miroku straightened his posture as she entered the room. "Hey there. Have a nice bath?"

"Yes." She replied with a smile. "I'm going to bed now. I've got blankets and pillows in the closet whenever you get ready to sleep."

Miroku looked at her for a moment, then stood up and flipped off the television. He wasn't too excited about sleeping alone instead of next to her. Especially the way she looked right now. It was as if she was teasing him, and he knew exactly what she wanted him to do. "May I kiss you goodnight?"

"Uhm…I…" She trailed off, not knowing quite what to say. She felt his lips on hers before she knew it and she suddenly felt awake and full of energy. He deepened the kiss, forcing her mouth open with his tongue.

Sango responded and her eyes slowly shut and she fought back for dominance. His hands were resting on her thighs and the slowly started to drift under the top of her sleep shirt. He slammed a little too harshly against the wall and she grunted in pain.

"Sorry." Miroku apologized quickly. He hadn't had sex in so long, he felt like he was about to lose control. His mind was hazy, but he didn't want her to regret anything. Maybe he was coming onto strong. "Sango…"

"Hm?" She asked, as she enjoyed the exquisite, pleasurable feeling of his tongue and lips on her neck. She held herself against the wall as he pressed himself onto her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"You're asking me that now?" Sango asked in disbelief. "What do you think?"

"I'm just making sure!" Miroku said in his defense, his hands reached her breasts from under her shirts and he ran his fingertips over the sensitive flesh. He smiled inwardly at the ragged breath she took when he touched her and he kissed her again, nipping at her bottom lip, then soothing it with his tongue.

The faint smell of her feminine shampoo and the soft scent of her body wash was driving him mad. He felt her hands traveling towards his jeans, which he rarely ever wore. She liked that look on him, it was rugged and masculine, but she knew he looked even better out of them. Her fingers ran over the hard bulge in his pants that had taken no time at all to reach it's full size, which was almost frightening for her.

He growled impatiently and really wished she would have stopped teasing him. He unbuckled his pants and yanked them down, allowing his erection to have room. It had actually almost become painful for him and he prayed to Buddha she wouldn't back out.

Sango reached her hand into the open hole of his boxers and pulled his large manhood out. It was hard, smooth and perfectly shaped, not to mention very large. He moaned against her neck as she began to stroke his large, powerful erection until he had enough.

Before she knew it, she was being carried towards her bedrooms as he slung her over his back like a caveman. She giggled and then, in a matter of seconds, she was laying flat on her back in her own bed. He grinned down at her and pressed her forehead to hers, looking into her brown eyes with his own.

"Let me see your body." Miroku said, then sat up to pull his shirt over his head. Sango just stared at how magnificent it actually was. His broad shoulders and perfectly toned arms. He had the slightest hint of abs and she ran her fingers over his tight stomach. "Don't be shy." He urged her, leaning back down and kissing her neck, then took her earlobe into his warm, wet mouth.

She hissed and dug her fingers into his back. He hid his cocky grin into her neck, as she sat up against the headboard and he lifted off her shirt. She blushed as he sat back and drew air in between his clenched teeth. "Wow."

"What?" She asked, a little afraid.

"Beautiful. I mean, that's all I can say." His eyes were fixated on her chest for quite a few seconds, until he realized he was still painfully aroused. His eyes met hers and in an instant, he was back in top of her, kissing her more hotly and passionately than before.

His mouth left hers, leaving her gasping for air as he traveled down her neck and to her heaving chest. He buried his face in between her breasts and kissed the newly exposed skin of her stomach, his hands fallowing the trail his mouth left on her body.

He moved back up, kissing every available inch of her body until his mouth found her breast again. This time, his mouth enveloped the sensitive flesh and he flicked it with his tongue until it became hard in his mouth. Then he pulled the bud between his teeth and teased it with his talented tongue.

She arched her back and moaned breathlessly as she felt her lower region become more and more heated. His hand tugged at her shorts, until the silky black material slid off her hips. She kicked them off the rest of the way and wrapped her legs around his back.

The mere sensation of that, made him almost lose control and he could feel his erection throbbing, almost compelling him to thrust into her now, but he wanted to make this last for as long as he could.

He slid himself from under her legs and she looked at him almost surprised, until she saw him kiss her thighs, then her knees and finally the bottom half of her legs. Miroku always knew they were shaped beautifully, but seeing them smooth, long and uncovered really got him going.

Trailing his tongue back up her leg, her finally kissed her the outside of her entrance which he noticed was very wet and aroused by this point. Smiling up at her, he wasted no time in flicking his tongue over the bud of her femininity.

She ran her fingers through his hair as he delved deeper into her womanhood, tasting and licking at her until she was breathless beneath him. He pushed her legs up to rest on his shoulders and he slid his finger into her opening and flicked it tongue over the very wet sensitive area.

Sango whimpered and screamed until she felt the wave of pleasure wash over her. It was almost blinding as pleasure overtook her body. She writhed beneath him until the sensation subsided, then he pushed her legs further apart and thrust into her with an abandoned passion.

She felt him penetrate her very tight opening to the point where it almost hurt, yet it wasn't a bad pain. It was welcoming to be completed by a man once again. She could feel every inch of his arousal sliding in and out of her very wet opening. He knew exactly what to do to please her and she never wanted this to end.

His hands were on either side of her as he pounded into her with a hungry passion. He leaned down to kiss her mouth again as he moved in and out of her. Sango was faintly worried about the noise the bed was making as it pounded against the wall with each thrust he made into her, and wondered if her neighbors would complain.

But, she would worry about that later.

His tongue fallowed the same movements in her mouth, that his arousal was doing inside of her. The sensation of his tongue thrusting between her lips, and his powerful erection thrusting against the farthest region inside of her was amazing and it sent her over the edge once again.

She moaned into his mouth as she felt herself tighten and release over and over again around his arousal. He grunted as he felt her wetness cover his entire length. He wanted to satisfy her again, but he didn't think this position was going to do it anymore for her.

He pulled out of her, slowly, still throbbing and aroused. He turned over on his back and she straddled him without any further urging. He fit into her so easily, it was almost as if they were made for each other.

He stared up into her eyes as he found a rhythm, and rocked her back and forth. Miroku's hands were settled on her hips and she stared down at him, her long hair almost covering her breasts.

He took one hand and pushed the hair away, his eyes never leaving hers. His fingers teased and pinched the peaks of her breasts until she felt the fire ignite between her thighs again.

She placed both her hands on his chest and gave him a seductive smile as he lifted her up and down repeatedly on his stiff, robust arousal. His body was wet with perspiration, his dark hair clung to his forehead.

Miroku pulled her down to him and kissed her softly before moving his mouth to her ear. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever been with in my entire life." His voice was thick and husky, full of lust and passion.

Sango was surprised by the emotion in his voice and she sat up, he gave her a wink from below and she smiled. He pulled her down to him again, but this time his mouth for her breast and he teased it again with his tongue until he felt her tighten around him.

He pounded into her until he felt her reach her climax again. He thrust in and out of her tight entrance until she felt him reach his own release inside her. His body collapsed on top of her, his lips brushing hers in a gentle kiss.

She smiled up at him and he returned it before rolling off of her and settling beside her in her own bed. His body felt tired and he was ready for sleep, but not anywhere except next to her.

Tiredly, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her waist. It had been too long since she had the feeling of man's arms around her. "Will you stay in here with me, tonight?"

"I wasn't planning on leaving." Miroku growled softly, placing a kiss on the back of her neck. "Goodnight, my love."

Sango felt euphoric at the sound of those words and with in minutes they were both asleep.

********************************************************************************

The night definitely didn't last long enough for Miroku. He grunted when his cell phone rang at 7:30 A.M. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was. Naked, warm, and all-too comfortable next to Sango Noriko.

He quickly shut his alarm off so it wouldn't wake her and he sat up, peering down at her remembering the night before. He smiled and brushed her hair away from her face. It was the first time he had actually woken up next to woman and knew her name, how he got there, and actually had a recollection of the love they made.

He slipped out of bed, not bothered by his nakedness. Picking his jeans up from the floor he realized he'd have to leave a little early if he wanted to go home and change into his normal suit and tie and before his class started at nine.

Sango stirred in a sleep and rolled over to discover him and she smiled. "I'm glad to still see you here this morning."

"What? Did you think I would leave?" He asked. "Not you, my love." He leaned in and gave her a small kiss. "You hungry?"

She groaned tiredly, then shook her head. "No, I sleep in on Saturday's."

"Lucky you." Miroku said with a chuckle. "You sure you're going to be OK here alone?"

"I'm sure." She said, keeping her eyes closed. "Are you coming back by here after your class?"

"Only if you want me to. I don't want to wear out my welcome or anything." He said, sitting down next to her on the bed and placed his hand on her naked thigh underneath the quilt.

Sango eyed him as he slowly caressed her skin. "After last night, you could never wear out your welcome."

Laughing, he stood up. "In that case. I'll see you tonight." He grabbed his keys and his wallet off the dresser. He'd much rather had stayed naked and next to her all morning instead of driving 10 miles in the cold to the university he taught at. Plus he remembered that Hayden had been attending that college for a dance class like she had informed him of last week, she would probably try to talk to him at some point.

Sango heard her front door shut just before she drifted back to sleep.

********************************************************************************

Miroku looked out over the crowd of sleeping students and giggling girls. He clapped loudly and only a handful of them woke up. "C'mon, I know it's a long class. But pay attention, you guys. Now, someone answer my question." He said, walking across the room. "What might make a person insane?"

"This class." One boy answered, causing the class to uproar with laughter.

Miroku chuckled a bit and quickly calmed the class down. "Alright, alright, Frankie Funny man. You teach the class."

"What?" Frankie looked up at him, quite perplexed. "Why me?"

"Well, if you think you can do it better…" Miroku chided. "You be the teacher and I'll be the student."

Frankie stood up and rolled his eyes, then stood at the front of the classroom. Everyone was awake by now just to laugh and giggle at his speechless reaction. Miroku's cell phone rang loudly and he was almost about to ignore it until he saw that it was Sango's number.

He knew something had to be wrong. She wouldn't have called him since she knew he was in class. Excusing himself from Frankie's fake lecture, he quickly darted out into the hallway and flipped up his phone. "Sango?"

"Miroku?" Her voice was shaky and full of fear. "Where are you?"

"I'm in class. Have been for the past 5 hours. What's wrong, baby?" He asked, becoming increasingly worried.

"Someone is coming down the halls, banging on doors, they keep doing it. I heard a horrible sound, I think someone's dead."

"Ok, Sango, calm down…are you sure you heard this?"

Sango rolled her eyes. "Yes! I heard someone barking like a dog, then a woman scream and a few other people scream and doors slamming. Miroku, I really think--" She was cut off by an involuntary scream when she heard her own door being scratched at, along with a K-9 growling noise. "Miroku! It's him! It's Howard! I saw him approach the door through the window!"

"Alright, Sango. Stay inside, don't go near any doors or windows. I'll be there in 10 minutes." He shoved his phone back in his pocket and poked his head back inside his classroom. "Class dismissed."

His students seemed shocked for a second or two, but eventually saw it as a blessing in disguise. He headed for the door, but turned around to face the line of students hurrying towards the exit at the opposite end of the hall. "Next Saturday I want an 8 page paper on insanity." He called out.

He hurried out the door, straight for his car and fired up his engine. He knew he was doing eighty the entire time towards Sango's apartment complex, and in Tokyo that was a dangerous thing to do, but right now all he cared about was getting to Sango, protecting her and making her feel safe.

If anything ever happened to her…he really didn't know what he would do with himself. He had woken up this morning, feeling different. He felt happy and content, his heart seemed to pound faster and he felt more energized and awake then he had in a long time.

It was something he had never felt before, but it certainly wasn't an unwelcome feeling.

He pulled into a parking space and his red camero came to a screeching halt. He noticed immediately that police had already arrived and even part of the stairs was blocked off. He started to make his way to Sango's floor until he was stopped by a police officer.

"No one's allowed up here. It's a crime-scene." An older, over-weight cop snarled at him.

"Sir, I have to go up there."

"You live here?" He asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "Handsome fellow like yourself is always the ones we watch for. They're the ones who do the killing."

"My…uh…girlfriend…lives here. I have to go and see her…"

"Let him through." Inu Yasha grumbled. "She's your girlfriend now?" He asked, skeptically.

"Quiet. Look, is she OK?"

"Yea, she's fine. We talked to her through the door but she refuses to open the door for anyone but you." Inu Yasha explained.

"Yea," Nelly chimed in, annoying Inu Yasha by trying to be involved. "she sounded pretty upset."

Miroku walked towards her door and noticed the large blood stain on the concrete hallway in the middle of the open-air apartments just in front of the door across the hall from her. He swallowed nervously before he tapping on her door lightly. "Sango?"

"Miroku, is that you?" She asked, looking through the peephole. Sighing with relief, she opened the door and he immediately took her in his arms.

"Thank Buddha, you're OK." He said, holding her close and stroking her hair with his hand. "I tried to get here as fast as I could."

Sango started to cry and Miroku immediately shut the door to give themselves some privacy. "Miroku, I was so scared. I couldn't even move…I don't even know what happened. I don't even want to look."

"You shouldn't look." Miroku said. "Look, I think one of your neighbors got killed. Who lives across the hallway from you?"

Her eyes winded and the tears fell faster. "That's Mrs. Masouka! Jesse Masouka, she used to baby sit Kohaku when he was younger. Is she…?"

"I think so…" Miroku said trying his best to console her.

"It's Howard! Miroku! He's after me! He saw me through the window and he started to bit and scratch at it, but eventually gave up…" She trailed off when another eruption of sobs overtook her. "That's when I heard the scream and I called you and then someone called the police and they got here just before you did!"

"C'mon, we better get you out of here." Miroku said. "Pack your stuff, you're staying at my place until this creep is captured."

"But…Miroku…I can't…"

"Sango, don't argue with me. I'm not going to have you stay here and be killed. Howard Bailey knows where you live now. He knows your car, he knows everything about you!" He said, trying to scare some sense into her.

"But, Kirara…I won't leave her."

"Sango, you can bring the cat if you want. I'm not a cat person, but I can tolerate it for you." He said, softly. "Please, you can't stay here."

"What about Kohaku? What do I do with him?"

"He can stay with me too. I've got the room. I really don't want anything to happen to you, Sango. I…I care about you too much."

Sango hesitated for a moment, then looked back towards her bedroom. "Alright, I'll pack up. Will you help me?"

"Of course." He said. "The faster we get out of the place the better." He looked back towards the window and tried to picture Howard's crazed face, gnawing and gnashing his teeth at the window like a madman. The mere image gave him the shivers.

It took nearly a whole hour to pack Sango's clothes, jewelry, make up and other possessions into several bags. Miroku was stuck carrying most of them out to the car.

"Where are you two going?" Nelly asked, raising an eyebrow. They were still on the scene trying to find as much evidence as they could.

Miroku stopped, mid-stride and turned around to face his friend. "I'm not having my girl stay in this place. This is no doubt the work of Howard Bailey and now he knows where she lives. She's in danger and I'm taking her to stay with me."

"Oh!" Inu Yasha exclaimed. "I see. Trying to be the hero so she'll fall into yours arms and sleep with you, I see."

Sango peered over at him, and he simply glared at the silver-haired police officer. "I have more respect for her than that." He glowered then turned towards his car.

He felt her soft hands on her shoulders and then felt her place a warm kiss on his cold cheek. "Thank you…" She said with a smile.

"Your welcome, love." He said, smiling.

He brought her close for a small, brief kiss, for even his friends to witness.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sunday was spent unpacking in Miroku's two bedroom apartment. It was a nice place, a little messy in some places, but nothing a woman couldn't fix. He had obviously been a bachelor for quite sometime.

The living room was the biggest room in the place and Miroku had taken up most of that room with a large screen TV. For once, since Howard's escape from the institution, she felt safe.

Miroku emerged from his bedroom after he unpacked her clothes while she familiarized herself with his home. "How do you like it?" He asked.

"It's beautiful." She said with a smile.

"Wait until you see this." He said, opening up the blinds that covered his balcony. A orange and purple sunset fell over the blue pacific ocean.

"Oh wow. That's gorgeous!" She breathed in awe, stepping out onto the balcony, despite the cold weather of October. "I've always wanted an ocean front apartment."

"Well, you have one now." He said softly, his blue eyes shimmering beautifully as he stared at the painted sunset with her. "I've wanted to do this for a long time."

"Do what?" Sango asked, feeling his arms around her waist, almost lovingly and protectively. He placed a small kiss on the crook of her neck before he answered her.

"Watch the sunset in the sky on this balcony, then go back inside and make sweet love all night long." His voice was seductive and his hands were touching every place he could reach.

She turned around to face him with a smile. "You never tire out do you?"

"Not when it comes to you." Miroku took her hands in his and pulled her close, kissing her softly, then more passionate as Sango became more responsive. He wanted to make love to her again, he wanted to be one with her body and soul again like he was last night.

He was falling in love, for the first time in his life he felt euphoric and giddy and by the pounding of her heart against his chest he could tell she was feeling the same. Miroku pushed her down on his bed this time, which was unmade and messy, but big enough for two people.

Sango wondered just how many women he had done this to on this very bed, but as his lips continued to travel over her naked skin she quickly stopped thinking about it and just let him please her. His mouth and hands were everywhere and she closed her eyes as she felt him finally crush his lips to hers again, putting his weight on top of her body.

His naked chest rasped against the material of her bra, and he reached a hand to pull it down when he heard a knock at his door. He ignored it and pulled her straps down, kissing along her neck and clavicle, then finally to her round, full breasts, half covered by the cups of her bra.

Another knock came and Sango looked down at him, wondering if he even heard it. "Someone's at the door."

"They'll go away." He said, kissing her waist and belly button.

He tugged on her pants and another knock sounded from the front of his apartment. "Damn it!" He cursed. "Let me go see what they want. Don't get dressed, I'll be right back."

He slipped on his button up shirt without bothering to button it and tried to hide his obvious excitement as he approached the door. Sango sat on his bed, the quilt pulled around her as she tried her best to listen.

"Hey, Miroku." It was Nelly's voice and she wondered if they had found anything out about Howard's escape.

Nelly looked at Miroku's open shirt and then down at his jeans, unbuttoned and unzipped. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Uh, well…" Miroku said with a sigh. "Yes, actually."

"Sorry." He said, inviting himself in. "But I thought you and Sango would like to see this." He held up a CD, obviously a DVD of some sort.

"What is it?"

"It's the security tape from Sunday night and Monday morning. The police have been reviewing it all weekend and we can't find anything peculiar about it. It's so strange." Nelly told him. "You have a DVD player?"

Sighing, and resigning himself to forget about sex right now and giving in he nodded and led Nelly into the living room. "Right here." He said, opening it.

Sango wrapped her robe around herself and stepped out of the bedroom, giving Nelly a smile. "Hello officer."

"Good evening, Ms. Noriko." He replied to her with a smile. "I'm glad you're here, I want to show you this, too."

Sango sat down beside Miroku, feeling a bit awkward in the strange place, wearing nothing under her thin robe but a matching bra and panty set with a police officer she also worked with reclining in the living room and extremely attractive doctor wrapping his arm around her as if they were about to sit down and watch a movie.

Miroku reclined back and pressed play and an image of a cell appeared on screen. The image had a bit of a green tint to it and it almost seemed like it was night-vision. This obviously was recorded when it was dark and the solitary inmates were asleep.

After a few minutes, nothing happens and Miroku wondered what was so interesting about this recording. He looked over at Nelly, whose eyes were searching the screen rapidly. "What's so interesting about this? Nothing's happening."

"Exactly!" Nelly exclaimed. "Nothing happens! That's what so strange about it! We don't see Bailey escape, or anyone aiding him in his escape. Nothing!"

The psychologist was just as baffled as the police when suddenly he noticed something. "Hey, wait a second…" He picked up the remote from his coffee table and hit the rewind button and watched it again for a few more seconds. "Did anyone else notice the time lapse?"

"Time lapse?" Nelly asked. "What time lapse?"

"Look," Miroku said, rewinding and pausing it again. "The time at the corner. It says 12:17 A.M." Then he pressed the forward button and pressed it a few more frames. Each frame was recorded at 10 second intervals but nothing seemed out of place.

Nelly kept watching as Miroku pressed the button a few more times and then he stopped. "This is only about a minute later, but look at the time now." He said, and Nelly saw that it read 3:16 A.M.

Nelly looked over at Miroku, who rewound the recording again and let it play naturally. There was clearly a jump in time that no one had caught before! "Wow! Great eye, Keseki!"

"So, what does this mean?" Sango asked, looking at the two boys.

"It means," Miroku said, ejecting the disk from his player. "That Howard Bailey didn't escape. He was released by someone who works with us."

"Right, because only employees have access to the security cameras to be able to cut them on and off!" Nelly said. "Thanks, Keseki. You've been a great help. I'll take this information back to the police."

He waved at the two of them and left them alone in the apartment once again.

Miroku looked over at Sango and he knew that Nelly had ruined the mood, but it was still an early night, maybe after a home-cooked meal and some candlelight she'd be all over him again.

********************************************************************************

"Good morning, Mr. Keseki." Hayden said sweetly.

Miroku was taken back a bit and he raised an eyebrow cautiously. Usually the blond was irritable towards him, since he made his liking towards Sango anything but secret. And despite today being a rainy, dreary Monday she seemed cheerful and delighted to see him.

"Good morning, Hayden." Miroku said, unsurely. "How's your morning been?"

"Hm…OK." She mused, then she looked at him. "How are you and Sango?"

Ah, he knew she had a motive for talking to him. She wanted to see how his relationship was going with her. Smiling, he decided now was the time to get her to back off of him again. "Wonderful."

Hayden's jaw tightened and she stared at him as he grabbed his file of appointments out of the cabinet and set off down the hall to his first appointment. Kami, even the way he walked was enough to drive her mad with lust and desire and it wasn't fair that Sango had him all to herself.

Speaking of the little which, she showed up at the nurse's station just as Hayden was trying not to think about the two of them together. They both seemed extra cheery today and no doubt the two had sex at some point over the weekend. It disgusted Hayden and she couldn't think of a person in this world that she hated more at that moment, then Sango Noriko.

Hayden promised herself she'd get her back for stealing Miroku away. If he only he hadn't been so utterly handsome and unapproachable, Hayden would have made her move first. But he had taken an immediate liking towards Sango and Hayden couldn't figure out why.

She was always the girl who got the guy. She was always the one that other females envied, not the other way around. This was all new to her.

Sango gave her a small smile and Hayden returned it, mockingly. Turning away, the brunette woman rolled her eyes and rolled her cart of medication towards Hamilton's room where it sounded like cartoons were playing on his television while he enjoyed his breakfast.

He sat up in his bed and gave her a huge smile. "Sango! I miss pretty nurse all weekend."

"I missed you, too, Hamilton." Sango said sweetly. "Are you ready for your medication?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Dr. Miroku has helped me a lot." He said, as he waited for Sango to prepare his medication. She measured out just the right amount of liquid.

"Oh he has?"

"Yes. He says just because you go away, doesn't mean you won't come back." Hamilton said, taking the cup from her. "I always hope you come back." He took his medicine obediently and gave her a sweet smile.

"I'll always come back." She said, disposing of the drinking cup. "You enjoy your breakfast, Ok? I have to go."

Hamilton looked uneasy for a moment, then nodded his head emphatically. "OK, but come back and see me, Nurse Sango?"

"Alright." She agreed and closed the door behind her. Miroku had so much patience with Hamilton and it was really showing. She was always a firm believer that her patients could recover from being "insane" and be productive citizens in society. One day, she hoped that could be for Hamilton. She wanted him to find a family, a wife, children, someone he could come home to everyday and not feel the emptiness of abandonment anymore that had plagued him for so long.

Miroku approached her in the hall with a smile. "Hey there, gorgeous."

"Hey Miroku." She said, looking around. He was being awfully…non-secretive…about everything. Which wasn't really bad thing, but she didn't want Jay to find out, and Hayden was already shooting the two glares.

"How many more patients you have to visit?"

"Just three." She said, looking at her time sheet. "Well, three for this morning. What about you?"

"My last appointment got canceled. Mr. Moss has the stomach flu, so he's resting. Nothing else really to do…except…" His mouth curled into a smile and Sango simply grinned.

"Hang around and annoy me?" She asked.

"Well, I was thinking about hang around and keep you company, but that works too." Miroku said with a grin. "But, hey I'll leave you to your work. I can go out and get us some Wacdonald's or something for lunch while you finish up."

"Sounds great." Sango said. "Get me a WacChicken sandwich, please."

"Gotcha! I'm going to get me a WacMac. You want some fries too?"

"Yes." Sango replied, going into Raven's room.

Miroku smiled and headed for the exit.

Hayden rolled her eyes and checked her watch. It was almost noon and she supposed she should get Mr. Banks ready to play Bingo in the recreation center. She really hated this duty, not only did she feel it was useless, but she also hated Amber the Bingo girl. She sounded so happy and chipper when she called out those annoying numbers and she even started to flirt with one of the cops.

It seemed like everyone at work was getting action, except her and she was sick of it!

********************************************************************************

Miroku wrinkled up his burger wrapper and threw it over at Sango who had quickly finished her lunch and was doing some extra book keeping for Jay. "Miroku!"

He laughed childishly and she threw the balled up paper back at him, where it bounced off his forehead. She stood up, ready to take his next blow, but instead of chucking discarded food wrappers back at her, he pulled her towards him and closed her mouth over hers.

He stood up from Hayden's chair and ran his fingers through her hair and she held back a sigh of pleasure when she felt his tongue push through her lips. "Miroku…we can't do this during our hours!"

"Oh yea?" He asked, pulling away and lifting her up on the desk, right on top of Hayden's papers and magazine she had opened to an article about some celebrity. "Why not?"

"Because…Mr. Webb said…"

"I don't care what Mr. Webb has to say, right now to be honest." He whispered against her neck. "I've wanted you all day."

Sango giggled and kissed him again, his hand planted on either side of her. Then suddenly he stopped.

Miroku felt something underneath the mess of papers and magazines. Something hard and small and he moved the papers until he found it. It was a small, gold key that had hid itself under some papers. "Hey, what's this?"

"Looks like a house key." Sango said.

"Why would Hayden have just one house key. Most people, especially women keep their keys on key chains and stuff, right?"

"Well…I do." She said. "What do you think it is then?"

"I don't know. We better put it in the lost and found box in the lobby." He said then gave her a small kiss. "Want to take the trip together?" He asked with a grin and held out his arm like he had on their first date.

When they reached the lobby a short five minutes later, they found Hiten Morioka standing in the lobby, seemingly angry with Nelly and Inu Yasha.

The silver-haired, golden eyed man snarled. "Look, we ain't sayin' you did it! We're just sayin', you're the only one who has access to that room! If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

Hiten pounded is fist on the counter and Sango jumped a little, not sure if coming with Miroku was such a good idea after all. They seemed to have stumbled into a fight. "I've worked here for 10 long years and not once have a let a patient out of that cell, and you know it!"

Nelly saw Miroku and Sango walk in and his stressed face turned into one of joy. "Hey, you two."

"Hey." Miroku said, pulling the golden key out of his pocket. "We want to drop this into the lost and found box. We think it's someone's house key or something."

Hiten turned around and looked at the small key in the doctor's hands. "Hey! There's the key!"

Inu Yasha rushed over from behind his desk. "This is the security camera's room key? Miroku, where did you find this?"

"We found it on Hayden's desk, under some papers." Miroku replied, handing it over.

Inu Yasha raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing snooping around her desk?"

"We…we weren't." Sango spoke up. "I was…we were…"

"Looking for something." Miroku finished. "Anyway….uh…that's where I found it. I thought it was a house key so we decided to bring it down here."

"I've been missing this thing for a week!" Hiten said, rolling his eyes. "I've had the pick the lock on that stupid door every morning just so I can sit in a chair and stare at a screen all day! Can I have the key back now?" He asked.

"Alright, alright." Inu Yasha said. "You're free to go. Nelly, bring Hayden in for questioning."

"Yes, sir." He said, nodding and exited the office.

"And as for you two…I know what you were up to." He eyed them suspiciously, but a smile played at his lips. "Either way, good job. You've made two breakthroughs in this case in less than twenty fours hours."

Sango clutched onto his arm and smiled up at him. Miroku held her hand and nodded. "May we go now, officer."

"Yea, get lost." He said, irritably grabbing another donut out of the flat box Nelly left sitting on his desk.

********************************************************************************

Hayden sat in the police's office in the department on the top floor. It was an unfriendly place, even more unfriendly than her department and they felt they needed to dramatize it even more but making her sit at a long table with a light above it as two puffed up cops circled her.

Nelly slid the gold key across the table at her. "Does this look familiar, Hayden?"

Her heart started to pound and she stared up at the two officers. "Uh…Uhm…it's a key."

"Yes…" Inu Yasha said. "Do you which key?"

"A gold key…"

"Yes, a gold key that goes to the security camera room." Nelly said. "Do you know what happened that night?"

"No." She replied.

"Howard Bailey was _released_ from his cell, he did not escape. Monday, October 21st, what where you doing that morning?"

"I was asleep!" Hayden exclaimed. "I didn't have anything to do with that?"

"Then how come this key was found at your desk?" Inu Yasha interrogated. "Dr. Keseki found it this afternoon on accident."

Hayden became infuriated and stood up, pushing the chair back against the wall. "How do you know _he_ didn't do it?"

"Because _he's _the one," Nelly began, looking at her. "who noticed the mysterious time lapse in the security recording. The only way that could have happened is if someone stole the key out of Mr. Morioka's locker and opened the door, shut off the tape, released Bailey from his prison, then turned it back on when all was clear."

Hayden was speechless. "Look, I-I don't know anything about this. I…I want to go home."

"Tough!" Inu Yasha said. "You're lucky you're a woman or you'd be in a lot worse shape than your in now."

Hayden started to cry. She was tired, hungry and regretting everything she had done. The two cops had been interrogating her for the past three hours and she felt as if she was ready to be committed to an institution herself.

"Stop! Just stop!" She cried. "God!"

Nelly's face softened but Inu Yasha stood his ground. "Inu…maybe you should…give her a break."

"Alright!" Hayden screamed. "Fine! I did it! I released Howard from his cell. I did it because I'm sick of that fucking bitch Jay's made me work with!"

"Sango?" Nelly asked. "Sango's a great girl, I'm glad she and Miroku are--"

"Exactly! Her and Miroku, Miroku and Sango, Sango and Miroku!" She pounded her fist on the table. "I'm so sick of hearing about those two I could _spit_ crazy people!"

"Why would you want to release Howard because of her?"

Hayden stared up at the two of them. She knew she was going to go to jail and lose her job and she thought she might as well just spill everything.

"Howard was obsessed with her." Hayden began. "He was in love with her, he showed his collection of picture he had of her before he was committed."

Both officers looked at her with interest.

"What pictures?" Nelly asked.

"All of them were candid. She had no idea he was taking them. He promised me, he would get her for me, if I released him…He promised me I could have Miroku if I let him go…so I did it."

Inu Yasha scowled and crossed his arms. "Just because you let some psycho run loose around Tokyo doesn't mean Miroku's going to go out with you. Women are so stupid!"

"Inu Yasha…" Nelly called out to calm him down.

"Well, not like it worked anyway." Hayden muttered irritably. "He hasn't succeeded in killing her. I don't know what I was thinking…"

"Well," Inu Yasha growled from his position leaned against the wall. "that isn't going to get you out of jail time. Let's go."

She obediently stood up and Nelly handcuffed her wrists and the two led her out of the room. But only one part of this mystery was solved and capturing Howard Bailey was already proving to be difficult.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

To say the least, Sango was frightened when she heard that Howard had pictures stored of her in a secret hideaway place he had made for himself. A humble, rundown shack of a place. White paint had been chipped away, siding had fallen off the side and even the gutters were starting to break away from the roof.

On a cold Tuesday morning the police took her there, along with Miroku who walked beside her protectively. There was nothing else around and the only sound was the early morning birds preparing to migrate and the sound of the leaves under their feet. Halloween was just two days away and Sango thought that this area would have been the perfect place for it.

Inu Yasha and Nelly guided them closer to the house and Sango thought twice about turning around and just leaving. For once, she actually wanted be at work instead of this little field trip, but Miroku urged her on telling her she needed to know about these pictures and see if she could recognize when they were taken. It would help police know for how long Howard had had an obsession with her.

Opening the door slowly, Inu Yasha and Nelly both entered first holding up guns and scanning the small, crude house. Then Nelly signaled for them when they had made absolutely sure it was safe for civilians to enter.

Miroku held her hand and guided her over the threshold and they both noticed that the shack-like house had an awful odor. Almost like rotting flesh, and the floor was covered with dust and old food. The smell wasn't intense, but still quite bothersome.

The lights had long ago stopped working, and even though it was daytime on the overcast day it still took a flashlight to see their surroundings.

Nelly shined his flashlight across the counter, kitchen table, floor and living room couch. The entire place was littered with different, gruesome things. Sango was more frightened by the human skulls, bony fingers, and lamp shades that looked as if they were made out of skin. That probably explained the smell.

She huddled closer to Miroku. "Miroku, this entire place is made of human remains."

"I know. It's disgusting, but the police want you to see something Sango. Just stay close to me and don't touch anything." He said, guiding her through the rest of the house.

"Oh trust me…I won't." She said, looking over at a picture frame that seemed to have been made out of teeth. The picture had been removed and she wondered if it was one of her.

They were led into a small room and Inu Yasha opened up a dust-covered dresser. A small top drawer was stuffed full of Polaroid's, photographs, even prints and they were all of her.

Nelly leaned down and picked up one then handed it to her. It was a Polaroid of herself at the supermarket picking up groceries. She didn't even remember the shirt she had on, much less how old she was, but this picture didn't look very old.

Even though she knew what they would find in this rickety old house, actually seeing it scared her and she wasn't sure she wanted to see anymore. Miroku stood with her as Nelly and Inu Yasha searched through Howard's collection of pictures, opening up even more drawers stuffed full of pictures. Sango even found an old Hello Kitty hair tie she had lost quite a while ago while having a water gun fight with Kagome one summer at the park. The guy really had been stalking her…

"Take a look at this one." Inu Yasha said, handing her a dusty old photo. Miroku peered down at it with her. It was of her, laughing and smiling with Jayceon Taylor, her ex-fiancé, at a café. Though the picture was mostly of her, she could see part of Jayceon's head in the picture.

"Oh my god!" She exclaimed. "This was taken on me and Jayceon's first date! I was 20 years old this picture. That was 5 years ago! He's been stalking me for that long?"

"Possibly longer." Nelly answered.

Sango looked away from the picture. The whole idea was just too much for her. He had probably seen her naked more than a million times and she was almost positive there was a picture of her like that, taken through her bedroom window at some point. She dropped the picture and started to cry. This was a dreadful place and she just wanted to leave.

"Miroku, I want to go home."

"Alright, I'll take you home." Miroku said, turning to face Inu Yasha and Nelly who were busy closing Howard's drawers that were stuffed full of pictures. Sango couldn't even look in that direction, it was all to much for her. "Hey, I'm going to get her out of here. It's even starting to scare me."

"OK." Inu Yasha said. "You two be careful. C'mon Nelly, we have to get back to work and try to find Howard Bailey's whereabouts."

*******************************************************************************

"It's been too long of a day." Miroku tiredly commented as he waited for Sango to finish preparing for bed in the bathroom. He was leaned back, half-dressed in bed with a devilish smile on his handsome face.

Kohaku had already went to bed since he had an early day of school the next morning, but Miroku considered the night young and he was feeling tired. Sango greeted him with a smile, dressed in her usual turquoise robe that hugged her body in all the right places and showed just the right amount of legs to tease him.

He sat up straight and inhaled air through his teeth. His eyes shimmered with enthusiasm as she sauntered towards him seductively. It would be the third time he made love to her since their first time Friday night, but it still felt as fiery and hot as that first time.

She leaned down and kissed him softly, but he pulled her down to him until she was straddling him and his hands were inside her now open robe, touching and exciting her with each stroke of his fingertips.

Miroku moved his lips down her throat and then to her chest where he kissed her breasts lovingly and admired them for quite a while before he took one into his mouth. Sango bit her lip and closed her eyes enjoying the sensations he was invoking inside her.

He stooped a minute later and peered into his eyes with his own. He gave her a soft lazy smile and brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen in her face. "I want to tell you something…"

"What is it?" She asked, suddenly conscious that she was exposed to him but didn't feel shy about it now.

"It's kind of hard for me to say." He paused for a moment. But, I--"

Then she heard Kohaku scream and something fall in his room.

Within seconds, both of them were dressed and rushing towards Kohaku's room where they saw an extremely terrifying sight.

There in the corner of his room was a tall, dark and threatening figure. An ax held high above his head he seemed to have turned his gaze towards Sango and Miroku. They just stared back and forth for a long while, Kohaku was whimpering incoherent things.

Then, the figure took one step towards them. Miroku swallowed hard and stood in front of Sango protectively. "Sango, call the police. Quickly."

"Right." She said, slowly exiting the room. Just as soon as she turned her back the ax wielder thrust his weapon down towards Miroku, but he moved quickly and instead he ended up stabbing the hard wood floor, sending fragments of it into his own face.

He screamed and ripped off his ski mask which was concealing his identity and Miroku's blood froze. It was Howard Bailey, the guy they had been searching for was in his own home at midnight!

Miroku could hear Sango consulting with the police but he didn't know how long it was going to take for them to arrive. Obviously, the man was insane, he had pretty much trapped himself but he clearly had a motive to kill either one of them, possibly both.

Angry, he tossed the ax aside, making a loud clinking noise. Howard growled and lunged towards Miroku, wrapping his hands around the momentarily stunned doctor. He had pinned him against the wall and Miroku couldn't breath. He gagged for air and Howard gave him a mean evil grin.

His teeth seemed to have been bleeding or perhaps it was the blood from someone else that had stained his teeth. His grip was tighter around Miroku's neck and he could faintly hear Sango screaming.

Then, just as suddenly he heard a loud metal clang and Howard's grip loosened and they both fell to the ground. Only, Miroku was the only one who got up. Sango stared down in horror at Howard who lay motionless on the floor.

She looked frighteningly up at Miroku who was coughing and gasping for hair, rubbing his sore neck over the bruised fingerprints along his throat. "Is he…dead?"

"I don't know." Miroku said. "Kami, he was going to strangle me."

Sango touched the side of his neck timidly and he hissed in pain. Howard has squeezed so hard that Miroku was actually bleeding and she became increasingly worried. Kohaku timidly got out of his bed after the shock wore off and looked at the man on the floor.

"Is…he dead?"

"We don't know, Kohaku." Sango told him. "The cops are on their way. Why don't you go next door to Soutaru's house. Just get out of here, it's not safe."

"But sis…"

"Please, Kohaku. I'm sure they won't mind if you wake them up when they know what's went on." She urged him, and after a moment's hesitation the 12 year old boy ran outside in his pajama's and up the stairs to the next floor to visit his teammates home.

"Miroku, we have to get those wounds cleaned."

He winced as she touched it again. "Sango, we have to keep our guard up."

Ignoring him, she led him into the bathroom and dabbed a stinging amount of alcohol on his neck. It bubbled and fizzed and she wiped it clean, he took the pain like a man but with everything going on he really felt like crying.

Then suddenly, Howard began to move. His arm twitched and Sango heard him shift behind her, she turned around to find him standing up on his legs now, though not very stable. Then, he growled viciously like an angry dog and he gnashed his razor sharp, blood-soaked teeth at her, trapping both of them in the bathroom.

Miroku forced her behind him and he took a fighting stance up to Howard as he approached closer to the bathroom. He didn't appear to have any weapons but his insane actions were enough to scare both of them out of their wits.

He knew what he had to do. He had to hold him off until the police got there with guns and handcuffs to take him away and possibly even kill him. Howard deserved to be killed after all the countless women he had killed, including 16 year old Ayame Harrison, putting her parents through a living hell.

And his unnatural obsession with Sango. Howard screamed and banged his fist against the wall, opening his mouth wider and biting on the doorframe, taking with him a big chunk in between his teeth and spitting it to the floor.

Miroku was literally shaking in his skin, trying not to show fear or make any sudden movements that might frighten the crazed maniac. However, Sango couldn't take it anymore and she broke out into sobs which caused him to lunge forward and bite at Miroku.

Sango panicked and in a moment of confusion she dove under Miroku's arm and out of the bathroom to watch the horrible sight unfold in front of her.

Miroku was blocking his attacks, throwing him against the walls, but Howard seemed to bounce right back more and more furious all the time. Then he saw an open opportunity and clamped his teeth down on his arm.

Screaming in pain, Miroku closed his eyes tight as Howard dug his teeth through his flesh, his own red blood spilling out around Howard's mouth. Sango felt as if she was going to throw up but all she could do is scream.

Then, the doors busted open and she moved out of the way for the policemen to aim their guns. Nelly and Inu Yasha along with some other officer were on duty that night and Howard instantly let go of Miroku's arm.

"Freeze!" Inu Yasha called out. "Someone get Mr. Keseki immediate medical help, now! Get the girl out of here, too."

"Yes, sir!" Nelly called out, inching in close to the stunned Howard and pulling Miroku out of the bathroom, blood dripping all over his floor. The sight made him want to faint, but he had to stay strong, at least until he knew Sango was alright.

Another officer escorted Sango outside towards a police car, but she hesitated as she saw Miroku being helped into an ambulance. "No, I want to go to the hospital with him."

"We'll take you there." Nelly said, as he approached his squad car. "He's been bitten pretty badly and we don't want him to catch an infection. So, you would rather go to the hospital than the police station?"

Nodding, she slowly and reluctantly got into the car. Nelly smiled and shrugged then slipped in behind the wheel. Her eyes were focused on the ambulance as it quickly departed from the apartment complex. In a way, she felt relieved, Howard Bailey would be captured again and put into another hospital, but now she had something else to worry her. Miroku's health.

********************************************************************************

Miroku stirred awake, the first sight greeting him was a dark room, but he heard someone shift and turn on a light which blinded him temporarily.

"Sorry." He heard a feminine voice say. A very beautiful feminine voice say and he didn't even have to open his eyes to see who it was. Though, he wanted too.

He smiled when he saw her hovering near his bed, worry etched on her pretty face. "Sango. What are you doing in here?"

"I didn't want to leave you. I'm worried sick about you." She said, stroking his hair from his face. "How's your arm?"

"Arm?" He looked down at the white bandage around his upper right arm. "Oh, right. It's fine…not a big deal."

"Miroku, you could have died trying to save my life." A tear came to her eye and as she looked at him more came. Before she knew it she was leaning across him, warm tears soaking through his hospital gown. "I was so worried about you."

"Hey, hey." He said, shifting under her. "I'm fine. I'm still here." He laughed. "I do feel a little woozy though."

"Probably because they had to give you strong antibiotics to fight off any infection you might have from the bite." She said, clearly looking tired and needing some sleep.

Miroku laid back down in his bed and his head stopped swimming. "Sango, you need sleep, honey."

"No. I won't leave you." She said, biting her lip timidly. She wanted to let him know how she felt about him, how she wanted to make love to him for the rest of her life and no one else, but instead he was the first to speak.

"Come here. Lay beside me." He said softly. She carefully positioned herself, laying her tired head on his shoulder and closing her eyes, enjoying his warmness and scent. After a few moments of silence he trailed his finger down her arm. "I want to tell you something. You're very special to me and I don't think I've ever told you that."

Sango smiled and felt her heart start to race, she suddenly didn't feel so tired anymore because adrenaline was pumping through her veins as he held her, tight in his arms. "No, you haven't actually…" She agreed, as if to urge him on.

"And, I know you've probably heard this from alone of men, but this comes from my heart…" He said, softly. "I've never said this before, but…I love you, Sango. With every breath I take, every beat of my heart, everyday Buddha allows for me to stay on this earth…I love you."

"Miroku…" She propped herself above him and stared at him with her eyes full of tears. "I…I love you, too."

Relief washed over his face and pulled her down to him, closing his mouth around hers for a long, passionate moment. He tasted her, savored her and he learned right then to appreciate every moment they would have together for the rest of their lives.


End file.
